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APR  18  1916 


SrcttoB    .D-i/i' 


THE  ORATORY  AND  POETRY  OF  THE  BIBLE 
FERDINAND  S.  SCHENCK,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


The  Oratory  and  Poetry 
of  the  Bible 


v^BY 

FERDINAND  S.  SCHENCK,  D.D.,  LL.D 

Profenor  of  Preaching  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  New  Brunswick,  N.  J. 


HODDER  &  STOUGHTON 

NEW  YORK 

GEORGE    H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


Copyright,  191 5 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN   COMPANY 


PREFACE 

For  the  past  fifteen  years  I  have  tried  to  incite  my 
students  in  New  York  University,  in  Rutgers  College, 
and  now  in  the  Seminary,  to  read  the  Bible,  not  as  a 
task,  but  as  a  pleasure,  and  have  had  fair  success.  The 
books  of  the  Prophets  look  very  dull  simply  as  books 
but  when  we  look  at  them  as  largely  sketches  of  ora- 
tions and  exercise  our  historical  imagination  to  hear 
the  orators  speak,  they  become  intensely  interesting.  I 
have  tried  in  the  classroom  to  so  describe  the  times,  the 
questions  of  the  day,  and  the  men  that  we  could 
imagine  ourselves  in  the  crowd  facing  Isaiah,  for  in- 
stance, as  he  held  the  multitude  spell-bound  by  his 
eloquence. 

In  this  book  I  make  the  same  attempt,  but  now  I  am 
forced  to  adopt  the  device  of  "Short  Stories  of  Great 
Orations,"  as  told  in  letters  supposed  to  have  been 
written  by  those  who  heard  them.  Such  letters  de- 
scribing orations  by  Webster,  Beecher,  or  Gladstone 
are  of  much  general  interest  and  help  us  to  hear  them, 
so  I  would  help  all  hear  Moses,  Amos  and  Paul. 

As  the  best  poetry  is  largely  impersonal  I  have  not 
tried  to  make  the  college  students  acquainted  with  the 
Poets  nor  have  I  tried  to  give  technical  lectures  upon 
poetry;  I  have  simply  tried  to  show  the  strength  and 
beauty  of  some  of  the  great  poems  of  the  Bible  in  such 
a  way  that  they  would  desire  to  read  them  and  appre- 
ciate them. 

V 


VI 


PREFACE 


I  send  this  book  forth  that  it  may  do  for  all  who 
read  it  what  I  have  tried  to  do  for  the  college  students, 
quicken  their  interest  in  reading  the  Bible:  my  book 
is  not  an  end  in  itself,  only  a  means  to  an  end. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Part  I.  Introductory 
I.  The  Nature  of  Oratory ^^ 


CHAPTER  ^^^^ 


Part  II.  Short  Stories  of  Great  Orations 
II.  The  Kind  and  Amount  of  Oratory  in  the  Bible 21 

III.  The  Four  Orations  and  the  Farewell  of  Moses 27 

A  Letter  from  a  Son  of  NaphtaH  to  His  Brother  in 

Thebes. 

IV.  Two  Orations  in  the  City  of  Samaria,  by  Amos  and 

Hosea,  during  the  Reign  of  Jeroboam  II 43 

A  Letter  from  a  Prince  of  Israel  to  a  Merchant  Prince 
of  Tyre. 
V.  Four  Orations  in  Jerusalem,  by  Joel,  Micah  and  Isaiah, 

in  the  Time  of  its  Great  Prosperity 62 

A  Letter  from  a  Prince  of  Judah  to  the  Archon  of  Athens. 
Supplement  to  Chap.  V— Arrangement  of  the  Speeches 

in  the  Book  of  Isaiah 82 

VI.  Three  Orations  in  Jerusalem,  by  Zephaniah,  Habakkuk 
and    Jeremiah,  on    the    Eve    of   its    Destruction   by 

Nebuchadnezzar ^5 

Letters  of  the  Princess  Zebidah  in  Jerusalem  and  her 

Husband,  Prince  Azariah,  a  Captive  in  Babylon . 
Supplement  to  Chap.  VI— Arrangement  of  the  Speeches 

in  the  Book  of  Jeremiah ^06 

VII.  Two  Orations  by  Ezekiel  to  the  Captives  in  Babylon.  .    109 
Letters  of  Prince  Azariah,  a  Captive  in  Babylon,  and 
his  Wife,  Princess  Zebidah,  in  Jerusalem,  and  at  last 
in  Egypt. 
Supplement  to  Chap.  VII— Arrangement  of  the  Speeches 

in  the  Book  of  Ezekiel ^^9 

VIII.  Two  Orations  by  Haggai  and  Zechariah,  during  the  Re- 
building of  Jerusalem •  •  • ^3i 

A  Letter  from  a  Prince  of  Benjamin   to  his  Sister  Re- 
maining in  Babylon. 

vii 


viii  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

IX.  Two  Orations  by  Jesus  of  Nazareth 144 

A  Letter  from  One  Traveling  in  the  Eastern  Provinces 
to  his  Father,  a  Patrician  at  Rome. 

X.  An  Oration  by  the  Apostle  Peter 167 

A  Letter  from  Shemuel  the  Pharisee  to  his  Brother  in 
Alexandria. 

XI.  An  Oration  by  the  Apostle  Paul 181 

A  Letter  from  Dionysius  the  Areopagite  to  Aristobulus, 
a  Nobleman  in  Rome. 

Part  III.  The  Poetry  of  the  Bible 

XII.  The  Birth  and  Growth  of  Poetry 197 

Xin.  Epic  Poetry 210 

Epic  Song  of  the  Red  Sea. 

Epic  Song  of  Deborah. 

The  Song  of  Songs. 

The  Lamentations. 

The  Rhapsody  of  Zion  Redeemed. 
XIV.  Dramatic  Poetry 221 

The  Book  of  Job. 
XV.  Didactic  Poetry 230 

The  Proverbs. 
XVI.  Lyric  Poetry 236 

The  Psakns. 


PART  I 
INTRODUCTORY 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  NATURE  OF  ORATORY 

The  power  of  oratory  is  vast  and  mysterious.  A 
great  crowd  is  gathered  to  hear  an  orator.  It  is  a 
popular  assembly.  Some  have  come  out  of  interest 
in  the  cause  to  be  presented,  they  are  opposed  to  it  or 
in  favor  of  it;  some  have  come  out  of  interest  in  the 
orator,  they  admire  him  or  are  curious  to  hear  him  or 
perhaps  they  dislike  him;  some  have  come  simply 
because  there  is  a  crowd  and  they  like  crowds.  There 
are  various  grades  and  conditions  in  the  crowd:  the 
cultured  and  the  uncultured,  the  learned  and  the  igno- 
rant, the  successful  and  the  failures,  the  well-clothed 
and  the  poorly-clothed,  deeper  grades  still :  the  bright 
and  strong  in  mind,  the  dull  and  stupid,  the  heavy  in 
heart,  the  buoyant  as  well,  those  of  a  deep  and  rich 
emotional  nature,  and  those  poor  and  shallow  in  their 
feelings,  those  strong  and  stable  in  will  and  those  weak 
and  vacillating. 

They  grow  restless  as  they  wait  for  the  orator.  He 
is  a  lawyer  perhaps,  and  has  argued  many  cases  before 
the  jury  and  the  court ;  or  perhaps  he  is  a  member  of 
Congress  and  has  advocated  causes  in  the  Senate;  or 
perhaps  he  is  a  preacher  and  has  plead  the  cause  of 
his  righteous  Lord  in  many  church  services.  He  has 
won  his  reputation  as  an  orator  in  one  of  these  ways, 
but  he  has  a  different  task  before  him  now.    There  is 

II 


12  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

no  sanction  of  Court  or  Senate  or  Church  to  hold  these 
people,  the  assembly  is  in  a  public  hall  or  in  the  open 
air;  they  are  not  special  classes  familiar  with  and 
trained  in  certain  lines  of  thought  whose  present  duty 
is  to  hear  a  well-known  advocate ;  this  is  simply  a  vast 
popular  assembly.  The  oratory  he  has  exercised  in 
other  fields  must  take  a  loftier  range  now  if  he  suc- 
ceeds in  holding  and  swaying  this  crowd  of  people. 
At  last  he  steps  upon  the  platform;  he  stands  within 
the  easy  view,  he  speaks  within  the  easy  hearing  of 
the  multitude. 

Now  as  we  are  trying  to  estimate  the  power  of  ora- 
tory we  will  imagine  ourselves  as  seated  upon  the 
platform  by  the  side  of  the  orator  and  looking  out 
upon  the  faces  of  the  multitude.  There  was  loud 
applause  when  he  stepped  out  upon  the  platform  but 
it  was  evidently  led  by  his  admirers  and  the  friends  of 
his  cause,  there  were  many  who  did  not  applaud,  they 
were  listless  or  they  were  opposed.  Soon  the  restless- 
ness of  the  mass  subsides;  favoring  faces  become 
eager;  dull,  listless  faces  begin  to  light  up;  frowning 
looks  brighten  into  smiles.  Now  there  is  a  burst  of 
applause,  this  time  it  is  not  manufactured,  it  is  spon- 
taneous; it  is  not  partial,  it  is  general.  Soon  the  in- 
terest becomes  too  deep  and  strong  for  frequent 
applause;  the  faces  are  intense,  the  forms  straighten 
and  bend  forward,  the  silence  grows  oppressive.  Still 
the  orator  speaks  on,  he  holds  the  multitude  as  by  a 
spell;  they  think  his  thoughts,  they  feel  his  feelings, 
they  choose  his  choices.  What  is  he  doing?  He  is 
pouring  his  power  into  the  multitude.  This  is  the 
power  of  oratory.    One  man  becomes  a  thousand  men. 


ORATORY  ^  13 

His  thoughts,  his  feelings,  his  will  take  possession  and 
rule  the  thoughts,  feelings,  will  of  a  multitude.  He 
changes  them,  he  moulds  them  into  new  men  in  certain 
directions,  he  even  gives  the  sluggish  a  new  life,  at 
least  for  a  time. 

This  surely  is  a  vast  power.  How  does  the  orator 
work  such  changes?  This  is  a  great  mystery.  Per- 
haps we  can  learn  something  of  this  mystery  if  we  now 
imagine  ourselves  as  seated  in  front  of  the  orator,  a 
dozen  seats  away;  we  are  now  part  of  the  crowd.  How 
does  he  sway  us,  mould  us  ?  He  speaks  in  such  a  way 
that  we  can  understand  easily  all  he  says ;  his  speech  is 
clear  and  pleasing ;  his  words  are  well  chosen,  familiar, 
and  skillfully  grouped;  there  is  movement  in  his  sen- 
tences, a  kind  of  musical  wave  that  bears  us  along  and 
charms  us.  The  tones  of  his  voice  are  marvelous, 
every  change  of  thought,  every  breath  of  feeling,  every 
choice  of  the  will  expresses  itself  clearly  and  naturally. 
How  the  man  acquired  this  art  of  speech  there  is  no 
time  to  consider,  we  are  simply  swept  along  by  it.  His 
speech  has  the  charm  of  music,  the  spell  of  great  har- 
monies, we  listen  enraptured.  But  it  is  not  only  the 
voice  that  so  expresses  his  thought  and  so  thrills  us, 
the  whole  man  speaks;  his  face,  especially  his  eyes, 
respond  quickly  to  every  passing  feeling ;  he  has 

"An  eye  that  tears  can  on  a  sudden  fill 
And  lips  that  smile  before  the  tears  are  gone." 

His  voice  and  eyes  and  face  are  so  many  avenues 
through  which  his  soul  enters  into  and  subdues  ours. 
So  it  is  with  the  postures  of  his  body  and  the  gestures 
he  makes.    All  these  are  separate  languages  and  he  is 


14  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

the  full  master  of  each;  the  way  he  stands  before  us 
on  the  open  platform,  the  way  he  walks  about,  the  way 
he  holds  his  head  and  moves  his  hands  and  arms  reveal 
to  us  and  impress  upon  us  his  thought  and  feeling. 
The  marvel  of  it  all  is,  that  without  an  apparent  effort, 
without  any  seeming  intention  even,  all  these  varied 
languages  are  in  perfect  harmony;  and  each  seems 
needed  with  the  others  to  express  the  full  thought  and 
feeling  of  the  orator.  The  subject  he  is  presenting  to 
us  is  so  great,  is  so  fully  understood  by  him,  has  such 
complete  possession  of  him  that  it  grasps  and  uses  all 
these  powers  of  oratory  to  express  itself  and  enforce 
itself  upon  us. 

Now  a  strange  thing  happens  to  us.  While  we  are 
charmed  by  voice  and  eye  and  gesture  we  become  un- 
conscious of  their  charm;  it  sinks  into  our  subcon- 
sciousness and  we  are  alive  only  to  what  he  is  saying; 
we  are  intensely  alive  to  that  because  he  is  such  a 
master  of  it ;  the  truth  he  is  trying  to  convey  to  us  is 
so  great  and  clear  and  important  to  him  that  we  lose 
sight  of  him  in  seeing  it.  Here  is  the  mysterious 
power  of  oratory,  at  least  one  of  its  main  elements. 
The  truth,  through  the  personality  of  the  orator,  im- 
presses itself  at  the  instant  upon  a  multitude  of  per- 
sonalities. There  seems  to  be  no  other  power  just 
like  it. 

This  orator  has  a  great  mind,  he  thinks  clearly  and 
strongly ;  he  is  well  informed  on  his  subject  and  widely 
informed  on  all  related  subjects ;  he  has  all  his  thinking 
power  and  wide  information  at  his  ready  command; 
he  knows  what  to  say  not  only  but  how  to  say  it  to 
interest  others,  to  lead  them  to  his  conclusions.    He  is 


ORATORY  15 

thoroughly  convinced  of  the  truth  and  of  its  import- 
ance and  so  he  convinces  us ;  he  forces  his  thought  and 
conviction  upon  us. 

This  orator  has  a  rich  emotional  nature,  a  feeling 
heart  as  well  as  a  thinking  mind;  and  the  truth  as  he 
sees  it  stirs  his  emotions :  it  is  these  strong  emotions  so 
aroused  that  thrill  in  the  voice  and  shine  in  the  eyes 
and  so  stir  our  emotions  until  we,  to  the  extent  of  our 
powers,  feel  as  he  feels. 

This  orator  has  a  vivid  imagination;  he  makes  us 
see  that  striking  incident,  or  that  beautiful  scene,  be- 
cause he  sees  it,  sees  it  so  clearly  that  he  vividly  de- 
scribes what  he  sees  and  we  see  it  through  him. 

This  orator  has  a  good  conscience,  he  values  right- 
eousness above  all  else;  his  lofty  moral  emotions  are 
his  overmastering  emotions,  they  sway  him ;  and  so  he 
persuades  us  that  righteousness  is  on  his  side,  that  the 
cause  that  controls  him  ought  to  control  us. 

This  orator  has  a  strong  will.  His  will  is  entirely 
enlisted  in  this  cause.  His  thoroughly  aroused  will 
appeals  to  our  wills,  arouses  them  and  enlists  them  in 
his  cause.  Herein  is  a  large  element  in  the  mysterious 
power  of  oratory.  The  truth  has  such  complete  posses- 
sion of  a  richly  gifted  person  that  he,  through  the 
various  languages  of  communication  at  his  command, 
impresses  a  multitude  of  persons  in  his  presence  so 
they  think  and  feel  and  resolve  as  he  does. 

There  is  one  other  element  that  adds  to,  perhaps, 
rather  than  throws  light  upon,  the  mystery.  It  may 
be  called  the  contagion  of  a  crowd.  As  we  sit  before 
the  orator  listening  to  him  intently,  it  is  not  as  if  we 
were  there  alone  or  only  a  very  few;  we  are  sur- 


i6  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

rounded  by  intent  minds,  beating  hearts,  aroused  wills. 
Some  one  starts  applause,  we  are  swept  along  to  swell 
it ;  some  one  sighs,  our  pent-up  emotions  almost  burst 
their  bounds.  These  are  the  movements  we  can  esti- 
mate; there  are  others,  strong,  pulsating,  but  beyond 
estimate.  The  orator  is  impressing  himself  upon 
multitudes  who  are  in  touch  with  each  other,  who  are 
influencing  each  other  in  thought,  in  feeling,  in  pur- 
pose. 

Something  may  occur  which  will  sweep  the  multi- 
tude beyond  the  control  of  the  orator,  such  things  have 
been  known;  but  generally  this  contagion  of  the  crowd 
has  taken  the  direction  incited  by  the  oratory  though 
going  beyond  the  desired  limit.  This  extreme  only 
shows  what  a  great  force  the  personal  influence  of  the 
crowd  has  upon  itself  and  upon  each  member  of  it  as 
awakened  by  the  mysterious  power  of  oratory. 

Then  there  is  the  contagious  influence  of  the  crowd 
upon  the  orator  himself,  even  of  certain  classes  in  the 
crowd.  He  wins  the  attention  of  those  opposed,  and 
he  goes  on  with  an  increased  effort  for  greater  victory ; 
he  arouses  those  listless  ones,  and  he  becomes  clearer 
and  stronger;  those  dull  faces  are  touched,  and  his 
emotions  gather  strength  from  them;  a  gleam  of 
awakening  resolution  shows  itself  in  eager  eyes,  and 
he  doubles  his  appeals ;  the  growing  enthusiasm  of  his 
followers  lifts  him  to  loftier  flights  of  eloquence. 
Streams  of  personal  influence  flow  from  his  soul  into 
many  souls,  their  responding  feelings  incite  him  to 
more  vivid  thought,  they  draw  the  reserve  forces  of 
his  mind  and  heart  into  splendid  action,  they  stimulate 
his  reason,  memory,  imagination,   feeling,  will,  and 


ORATORY  17 

the  stream  of  his  personal  power  becomes  a  vast  flood 
and  sweeps  the  multitude  along  in  its  mighty  volume. 

We  may  not  fully  understand  the  mystery ;  we  may 
not  fully  estimate  the  vast  power  of  oratory;  but  we 
feel  it.  Tomorrow  morning  we  read  the  verbatim 
report  of  the  great  oration  in  the  newspaper;  it  is  clear, 
it  is  strong,  but  it  is  cold;  the  life  has  gone;  the  heart 
of  fire  has  ceased  to  beat.  It  is  all  true,  but  it  is  truth 
alone;  the  personality  of  the  orator  has  faded  away; 
his  vast,  mysterious  power  has  vanished.  By  the  im- 
agination we  may  recreate  the  scene,  may  again  become 
one  of  the  crowd,  may  again  see  and  hear  the  orator, 
may  again  to  some  extent  feel  the  power  of  oratory. 


PART  II 

SHORT  STORIES  OF  GREAT 
ORATIONS 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  KIND  AND  AMOUNT  OF  ORATORY  IN 
THE  BIBLE 

A  LARGE  part  of  the  Bible  is  the  report  of  orations. 
The  narrative  makes  us  acquainted  with  the  speaker, 
describes  sometimes  quite  fully  the  occasion,  gives  a 
concise  report  of  the  oration  and  estimates  its  effect 
upon  the  people  and  succeeding  history.  Many  of 
these  orations  v^ere  spoken  in  the  ancient  Hebrew 
tongue.  The  language  itself  was  finely  adapted  for 
oratory;  it  was  not  philosophical  but  popular;  not 
scientific,  but  poetic.  It  had  great  simplicity,  clear 
visions,  direct  points  of  view,  large  conceptions,  a 
scorn  of  petty  details.  It  had  great  strength;  it  was 
even  so  sensuous  and  passionate  that  it  frequently  ex- 
pressed its  feelings  in  terms  of  their  physical  mani- 
festations. The  simple  directness  of  our  English 
Bible  is  due  largely  to  the  translation  of  this  strong 
Hebrew  language  into  our  English  tongue  at  the  time 
of  its  greatest  strength,  in  its  golden  age,  that  of 
Bacon,  Shakespeare  and  Milton.  The  dignity  of  the 
Latin  and  the  grace  of  the  Norman-French  were  har- 
moniously mingled  in  not  too  large  proportion  with 
the  body  of  strong  Anglo-Saxon,  so  forming  our  clear 
and  vigorous  English.  The  Bible  is  stronger  even 
than  Shakespeare  in  words  of  Anglo-Saxon  origin. 

21 


22  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

Hebrew  oratory  has  thus  been  very  finely  rendered 
for  us  into  our  own  language. 

The  breaking  up  of  our  Bible  into  chapters  and 
verses,  while  extremely  useful  for  reference,  has  how- 
ever been  a  very  serious  hindrance  to  the  flow  of 
vigorous  oratory,  it  has  spoiled  many  a  fine  passage,  it 
has  kept  many  readers  from  even  recognizing  they 
were  reading  an  oration.  It  is  quite  possible,  for  in- 
stance, to  read  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  by  chapters 
and  verses  and  not  at  all  recognize  it  as  a  book  of  great 
orations.  Whatever  view  may  be  taken  of  the  origin 
of  the  book,  the  form  of  it  is  that  of  oratory.  One  of 
the  greatest  men  in  the  world's  history,  at  the  close  of 
his  life,  makes  a  series  of  orations  with  the  lofty 
purpose  of  persuading  a  nation  to  elect  God  as  their 
King.  Very  few  orators  are  great  enough  to  be  com- 
pared to  Moses ;  very  few  orations  compare  with  these 
in  lofty  eloquence;  each  oration  leads  to  the  next,  the 
pause  of  silence  and  reflection  between  adds  to  the 
impression,  and  there  is  the 'steady  progression  to  the 
climax  of  the  final  oration;  Moses  marshals  facts, 
arguments  and  appeals  with  marvelous  power. 

In  the  first  oration,  chapters  i :  6-4 :  40,  Moses  an- 
nounces his  deposition :  that  he  can  no  longer  be  their 
leader. 

In  the  second  oration,  chapters  8:51-11:  32,  he  de- 
livers to  the  people  the  code  of  laws  for  their  guidance. 

In  the  third  oration,  chapter  28 :  1-68,  he  exhorts  the 
people  to  obey  the  laws. 

In  the  fourth  oration,  chapters  29 : 2-3 1:8,  he 
makes  his  final  appeal  to  the  nation  to  form  a  solemn 
covenant  to  have  God  and  obey  Him  as  their  King. 


BIBLE  ORATORY  23 

The  succeeding  history  flows  from  this  important 
occasion  and  shows  the  large  effect  in  the  nation's  Hfe 
of  the  action  urged  by  this  series  of  orations. 

In  the  later  books  of  the  Bible-narrative  we  fre- 
quently meet  with  men  called  prophets,  they  were 
men  of  brave  and  faithful  speech  urging  the  people 
and  their  rulers  to  acknowledge  God  as  their  King. 
When  kings  arose  in  the  national  life  these  brave  men 
told  the  most  arbitrary  kings  that  they  were  only 
sub-kings  after  all,  that  God  was  the  real  King  of  the 
nation. 

In  the  later  days  of  the  nation's  life  some  of  these 
prophets  gathered  up  and  arranged  the  sketches  of  the 
orations  they  had  made  to  the  people  and  their  rulers, 
and  thus  the  resulting  books  of  the  prophets  we  have 
in  our  Bible  are  really  books  of  oratory.  Many  look 
upon  these  books  as  characterized  mainly  by  prediction 
and  think  of  a  prophet  as  mainly  one  who  foretold  the 
future.  There  is  a  remarkable  element  of  prediction 
in  some  of  these  books,  but  it  is  very  small  in  compari- 
son with  the  oratory,  and  the  more  remarkable  because 
small. 

The  prophets  were  preachers  of  righteousness,  not 
as  we  think  of  preachers  today,  confined  in  their  minis- 
try to  single  congregations,  these  were  rather  national 
orators;  they  endeavored  to  arouse  the  nation  to 
loyalty  to  their  God,  the  righteous  King.  They  were 
men  of  such  superior  ability  that  they  won  the  atten- 
tion of  the  nation  and  made  a  large  impression  upon 
it;  men  of  great  eloquence  who  used  their  gifts  for  the 
lofty  object  of  advancing  civic  and  religious  righteous- 
ness. 


24  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

The  quality  of  many  of  these  orations  fills  us  with 
admiration.  The  Golden  Age  Oration  of  Isaiah,  chap- 
ters 2-4,  contrasted  the  darkness  then  prevailing  with 
the  splendid  future  that  might  be  brought  into  exist- 
ence. The  Salvation  Oration,  Isaiah  24-27,  described 
the  songs  of  praise  arising  after  the  silence  of  despair. 
The  Shiloh  Oration  of  Jeremiah,  Jeremiah  7-10,  de- 
picted in  terrible  terms  the  results  of  unrighteous  liv- 
ing. Many  passages  from  these  ancient  books  are 
among  the  brightest  gems  of  the  world's  oratory.  The 
wonderful  imagination  of  Isaiah  brings  before  our 
eyes  his  vision  of  the  dead  kingdoms  arising  from 
their  graves  to  exult  over  Babylon  as  she  falls  into  the 
grave,  Isaiah  14:9-20.  In  like  manner,  to  cheer  the 
oppressed  of  his  people,  Ezekiel  gives  the  elaborate 
description  of  Tyre  as  a  stately  ship  brought  to  silence 
in  the  midst  of  the  seas,  Ezekiel  27.  Nahum,  in  his 
short  book,  describes  the  awful  majesty  of  God  as  he 
leads  the  forces  of  destruction  against  Nineveh. 

Glancing  now  at  the  New  Testament  we  find  the 
Gospels  are  books  of  oratory.  The  loftiest  thinking, 
the  finest  feeling  and  the  noblest  willing  the  world  has 
ever  known,  clothed  in  the  most  charming  forms  of 
eloquent  speech,  pour  themselves  out  in  the  teachings 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  the  noble  purpose,  the 
highest  object  an  orator  can  have,  the  salvation  of  man 
from  all  that  is  low  and  groveling  to  the  life  in  fellow- 
ship with  the  righteous  God,  the  rightful  King  of  the 
soul. 

The  Book  of  the  Acts  is  also  a  book  of  oratory;  in 
its  rapid  narrative  there  are  nineteen  concise  sketches 
of  orations;  orations  by  great  men  well  adapted  to 


BIBLE  ORATORY  25 

their  lofty  purpose  of  leading  all  men  to  the  noble  life 
of  loyalty  to  God  their  righteous  King. 

There  is  a  subtile  element  of  the  power  of  oratory 
that  makes  that  of  the  Bible  of  more  interest  to  us 
than  the  oratory  of  any  other  age  or  clime;  it  may  be 
called  the  spirit  of  all  the  ages.  Generally  oratory 
belongs  specially  to  its  own  clime  and  age.  It  is  true 
that  men  of  all  ages  and  climes  have  much  in  common. 
It  is  true  that  the  orator  is  the  easy  master  of  the  great 
things  that  interest  mankind.  It  is  true  that  domestic 
virtues,  love  of  native  land,  loyalty  to  national  tra- 
ditions, courage,  devotion  are  the  general  themes  of 
oratory.  But  it  is  also  true  that  the  orator  and  the 
crowd  he  influences  belong  to  the  same  special  age  and 
clime,  that  there  are  interests  of  special  value  to  them, 
that  these  awaken  kindred  thoughts  and  feelings  pecul- 
iar to  their  present  time  and  condition ;  and  that  these 
special  interests  have  very  little  value  to  us  today. 

It  is  for  this  reason  we  find  that  we  do  not  feel  the 
thrilling  contagion  which  moved  the  crowd  when 
Demosthenes  was  arousing  them  against  Philip.  But 
when  we  stand  with  the  crowd  before  Isaiah  or  Paul 
the  spirit  of  their  age  is  the  spirit  of  ours  as  well,  these 
orators  are  trying  to  awaken  loyalty  to  the  ever  present 
righteous  God;  the  temple  courts  have  vanished,  the 
hill  of  Mars  is  far  away,  but  loyalty  to  the  righteous 
God  is  a  thrilling  theme  of  everliving  interest. 

While  this  makes  Bible  oratory  of  special  interest 
to  us  it  can  be  only  by  recreating  the  occasion,  by  im- 
agining ourselves  as  in  the  crowd  hearing  Moses  or 
Ezekiel,  Jesus  of  Nazareth  or  Peter,  that  we  can  more 
fully  estimate  the  value  or  feel  the  power  of  their 


26  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

oratory.  In  order  to  help  in  this  needed  effort,  I  have 
imagined,  in  a  few  instances,  one  who  was  swayed  by 
some  great  oratory  describing  it  in  a  letter  to  a  friend : 
these  letters  form  the  following  chapters. 

Since  poetry  is  near  akin  to  oratory  I  have  added 
chapters  on  the  Poetry  of  the  Bible. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  FOUR  ORATIONS 
AND  THE  FAREWELL  OF  MOSES 

A  Letter  from  a  Son  of  Naphtali  to  His 
Brother  in  Egypt 

From  the  time  our  army  won  its  last  decisive  victory 
over  the  untold  hordes  of  our  foes  the  march  of  our 
nation  has  been  unopposed  and  very  hopeful,  every 
day  seemed  to  bring  us  nearer  our  promised  land.  But 
the  days  have  been  long  and  many  and  our  eyes  have 
grown  weary  looking  only  upon  the  great  desert 
stretching  out  on  every  side  to  the  far  off  sky  line. 
Then  came  a  day  long  to  be  remembered,  when  our 
march  brought  us  over  the  ridge  of  the  desert  and  we 
saw  below  us  a  large  lake  and  on  the  farther  side  a 
land  of  hills  and  valleys  covered  with  olive  trees,  vine- 
yards and  fields  of  grain,  and  beyond  it  the  sun  was 
sinking  to  its  rest. 

But  now  a  strange  thing  happened,  the  wonderful 
Cloud  which  had  guided  our  long,  slow  march  and 
paused  each  night  for  our  needed  rest,  paused  as  usual, 
and  then  slowly  rose  to  a  great  height,  which  was  the 
signal  that  here  we  were  to  form  a  camp  for  a  longer 
stay.  The  next  day  was  a  busy  one,  each  tribe  knew 
its  own  work  and  place,  the  Tent  of  Meeting  was  set 
up  in  the  middle  of  the  camp  and  the  tents  of  all  the 

27 


28  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

tribes  were  arranged  in  order  on  all  sides  of  it,  as  Moses 
had  directed  many  years  before.  Our  camp  extended 
over  a  great  space,  two  or  three  square  miles  it  must 
have  been,  but  was  so  arranged  that  from  every  part 
of  it  the  Tent  of  Meeting  could  be  easily  seen.  We  had 
lived  in  many  such  encampments  in  various  parts  of 
the  desert,  in  some  of  them  for  several  years  at  a  time, 
but  now  we  were  out  of  the  desert  on  a  high  table-land 
sloping  down  toward  the  great  lake,  and  from  it  we 
looked  over  upon  *'the  land  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey,"  and  we  were  eager  to  enter  upon  our  promised 
inheritance. 

Several  days  followed  in  impatient  waiting.  It  was 
a  camp  of  young  men  and  women,  scarcely  any  were 
over  forty  years  old,  all  were  eager  to  go  on  under  our 
great  leader  in  whom  we  placed  the  utmost  confidence. 
Soon  it  began  to  be  noticed  that  Moses,  who  in  other 
encampments  had  passed  among  the  tribes  in  familiar 
converse  as  a  father  among  his  children,  did  not  now 
leave  his  own  tent.  Those  who  on  various  matters 
called  upon  him  there,  reported  him  well  and  strong 
but  strangely  silent  and  depressed.  A  great  anxiety 
began  to  mingle  with  the  impatient  waiting,  and  groups 
of  men  and  women,  wherever  formed,  talked  with  each 
other  concerning  the  mystery  of  the  long  delay. 

Then  one  morning  just  after  the  hour  of  worship, 
while  the  smoke  from  the  altar  of  sacrifice  was  still 
rising  through  the  quiet  air,  and  while  the  people  were 
still  standing  before  their  tents,  there  rang  out  three 
long  blasts  from  the  silver  trumpets  blown  by  the 
Levites  before  the  Tent  of  Meeting,  and  easily  heard 
to  the  farthest  bound  of  the  camp.    This  was  a  well 


MOSES  29 

known  signal  for  the  elders  of  the  people  and  the  cap- 
tains of  the  army,  the  representatives  of  all  the  tribes, 
to  assemble  at  the  door  of  the  Tent  of  Meeting.  All 
was  now  eager  expectation,  we  felt  sure  the  waiting 
was  nearly  over,  that  directions  were  to  be  given  for 
the  conquest  and  division  of  the  land,  and  all  the  people 
watched  the  elders  and  captains  as  they  gathered  at 
the  appointed  place.  When  the  leaders  of  the  farthest 
tribes  had  reached  us  we  were  over  twelve  hundred  men 
standing  close  together  and  pressing  as  near  as  possible 
to  the  platform  before  the  Tent.  At  first  there  was  the 
buzzing  of  earnest  but  reverent  conversing  with  each 
other  of  the  probable  message  we  were  to  receive,  but 
this  soon  gave  place  to  solemn  silence  as  we  waited  for 
Moses  to  come  before  us. 

When  he  came  forth  we  could  not  help  seeing  the 
great  change  that  had  come  upon  him.  His  tall  form 
had  all  his  accustomed  dignity  and  strength  of  bearing, 
his  noble  face  had  the  majestic  expression  we  had  often 
seen  before  of  one  just  having  had  an  audience  with  the 
Lord  God  Almighty,  and  of  bearing  his  message  to  his 
chosen  people,  his  eyes  as  usual  seemed  not  only  to  look 
upon  our  faces,  knowing  each  one  of  us  well  and  lov- 
ingly, but  to  look  upon  our  inmost  souls.  But  now  for 
the  first  time  he  seemed  to  carry  a  message  which  was 
a  heavy  burden  to  him  and  which  he  knew  would  be 
hard  for  us  to  bear;  his  form,  his  face,  his  eyes  all 
expressed  his  great  sorrow.  His  voice  was  always 
wonderful,  far-carrying,  penetrating,  musical,  thrilling, 
conveying  tenderness  and  pleading,  sternness  and  com- 
mand, courage  and  confidence  in  its  tones,  but  now  as 
he  spoke  to  us  it  seemed  to  carry  a  strange  mingling  of 


30  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

sad  regret  and  patient  resignation  that  pulsated  through 
our  being  from  the  first  word  until  at  the  last  it  broke 
into  a  painful  silence. 

His  great  speech*  will  be  remembered  by  us  all 
throughout  our  lives;  but  there  were  three  short  pas- 
sages in  it  that  are  written  on  our  hearts.  He  began 
by  recounting  the  Lord's  leading  us  and  governing  us 
by  our  own  chosen  leaders  until  the  time  when,  upon 
the  report  of  the  spies  we  had  sent  to  examine  the 
land,  we  rebelled  against  the  Lord  and  he  sentenced 
our  fathers  to  wander  and  die  in  the  wilderness;  then 
said  Moses,  **The  Lord  was  angry  with  me  for  your 
sakes,  saying,  'Thou  also  shalt  not  go  into  the  land  of 
promise.'  "  The  voice  of  Moses  trembled  as  he  spoke 
these  words,  and  many  exclamations  of  sorrow  broke 
forth  from  our  lips. 

Moses  again  took  up  his  speech  and  told  of  our 
wanderings  in  the  wilderness  and  of  our  discipline  into 
an  orderly  camp  and  army,  and  then  of  our  recent 
victories  and  marches;  then  Moses  almost  overcome 
by  his  feelings  said  that  after  these  victories  and  very 
recently  he  had  besought  the  Lord,  *'Let  me  go  over,  I 
pray  thee,  and  see  the  good  land  beyond  Jordan.  But 
the  Lord  was  wroth  with  me  for  your  sakes  and  said, 
'Speak  to  me  no  more  of  this  matter,  thou  shalt  behold 
the  good  land  from  a  mountain-top  but  thou  shalt  not 
go  over  Jordan.'  "  We  could  not  now  restrain  our 
feelings  but  broke  out  into  loud  and  almost  rebellious 
protest.  As  soon  as  he  could  speak  again  and  be 
heard  Moses  began  to  exhort  us  to  faith  in  the  Lord 
our  God,  and  to  a  careful  obedience  of  his  command- 

•  Deuteronomy,  Chapters  i:  6  to  4:  40. 


MOSES  31 

ments,  and  at  its  close  carried  on  by  his  almost  over- 
mastering feelings,  he  told  us  of  the  sad  result  of 
disobedience,  saying,  "The  Lord  was  angry  with  me 
for  your  sakes  and  sware  that  I  should  not  go  over 
Jordan  but  I  must  die  in  this  land.  I  must  die  here 
on  this  side  of  Jordan.  You  will  go  over  into  your 
great  inheritance,  but  I  cannot  lead  you  any  farther. 
I  must  die  here :  and  now  within  a  few  days.*' 

Then  the  assembly  broke  up  in  silence  and  each  dele- 
gation returned  to  its  own  tribe.  We  found  the  people 
gathered  before  the  tents  eagerly  waiting  for  the  glad 
news  that  we  were  soon  to  march  to  take  possession  of 
our  promised  land.  We  had  to  tell  them  instead  that 
Moses  could  no  longer  be  our  leader,  but  was  about  to 
die.  Grief  could  not  be  restrained,  lamentations  loud 
and  prolonged  filled  the  camp,  strong  men  broke  down 
with  sobbing,  women  and  children  wept  as  though  their 
hearts  were  breaking.  For  years  Moses  had  been  with 
us,  a  great  leader  awakening  admiration  and  loyalty, 
and  we  depended  upon  him  as  representing  the  Lord 
God  to  us,  we  revered  him  as  great  in  himself  and  as 
great  jn  his  office  and  we  had  never  thought  of  his  fail- 
ing us  or  leaving  us.  Then  too  he  had  never  held  him- 
self aloof  from  us  in  his  vast  dignity,  he  had  never 
withdrawn  himself  from  us  in  his  lofty  position,  but 
had  mingled  among  us  as  a  father.  As  he  frequently 
passed  through  the  camp  he  placed  his  hand  upon  the 
heads  of  the  children,  he  talked  with  the  mothers  of 
their  cares  and  joys,  he  spoke  to  the  young  men  and 
maidens  of  their  hopes  and  plans,  he  familiarly  con- 
sulted with  the  elders  and  the  captains  and  their  men 
concerning  the  various  details  of  the  march  and  the 


32  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

camp,  of  the  past  experiences  and  of  the  present 
prospects. 

That  Moses  the  trusted  leader,  the  loving  friend 
should  die,  and  die  now  as  we  were  on  the  borders  of 
our  land  when  we  needed  him  so  much,  when  our  hopes 
were  almost  realized  and  yet  so  difficult  of  full  realiza- 
tion, hopes  centering  in  his  leadership,  hopes  he  had 
shared  with  us,  which  were  peculiarly  his,  that  he 
should  be  disappointed,  that  he  should  fail  us,  that  he 
should  die  now,  it  was  too  hard  for  us  to  bear;  we 
broke  down  under  it.  The  grief  was  heartfelt  and 
contagious ;  men,  women  and  children,  the  whole  camp, 
as  the  news  spread,  broke  forth  into  sobs  and  lamen- 
tations. 

There  followed  two  long  days  of  silence  and  sorrow, 
no  songs  were  now  heard  in  the  camp,  even  the  song 
Moses  had  given  us  when  we  came  out  of  Egypt 
through  the  Red  Sea  ceased  from  our  lips.  Before 
there  had  been  much  laughter  and  rejoicing  among  all 
the  tribes,  our  hardships  were  over,  our  prospects 
were  bright,  our  friendships  and  relationships  were 
close  and  happy ;  but  now  we  met  each  other  with  tear- 
filled  eyes  and  broken  voices ;  even  the  Promised  Land 
itself,  as  we  looked  off  upon  it  through  the  clear  air, 
seemed  remote  and  unattractive. 

On  the  morning  of  the  next  day  the  three  long  blasts 
from  the  silver  trumpets  called  the  representatives  of 
the  tribes  to  another  assembly  before  the  Tent  of  Meet- 
ing. In  the  long  address*  which  Moses  now  made  to 
us  there  was  a  careful  and  stern  subduing  of  his  strong 
feeling   of   disappointment   which   had   so   filled   his 

•  Deuteronomy,  Chapters  5:  i  to  ii:  32. 


MOSES  33 

former  speech,  his  resignation  to  his  personal  fate  was 
manifest  and  his  determination  to  do  the  best  he  could 
for  us  now  that  he  was  about  to  depart  from  us  was 
the  prevailing  tone  of  his  whole  speech.  There  had 
been  prepared  under  his  direction,  copies  of  all  the 
laws  God  had  given  us  through  him  during  the  past 
forty  years,  as  he  had  carefully  arranged  them;  and 
now  Moses  gave  to  the  elders  of  each  tribe  a  copy  of 
these  laws  and  also  his  fatherly  advice  about  their 
value  and  how  best  to  keep  them.  With  all  the  dignity 
of  his  character  and  of  his  vast  experience  he  began 
his  address :  "Hear  O  Israel  the  statutes  and  the  judg- 
ments which  I  speak  in  your  ears  this  day  that  ye  may 
learn  them  and  observe  to  do  them.  The  Lord  our 
God  made  a  covenant  with  us  in  Horeb.  The  Lord 
made  not  this  covenant  with  our  fathers  but  with  us, 
even  us  who  are  all  of  us  here  alive  this  day.'* 

As  he  began  so  he  continued  his  whole  speech  with 
great  deliberation  and  earnestness  as  befitted  his  theme 
and  his  position,  the  man  grown  wise  with  vast  experi- 
ence, the  father  of  his  people,  the  great  leader  and 
lawgiver  of  our  new-born  nation.  At  its  close  he  gave 
the  Book  of  the  Law  to  the  elders  for  all  the  people  and 
said,  "Ye  are  to  pass  over  Jordan  to  go  in  to  possess 
the  land  which  the  Lord  your  God  giveth  you  and  ye 
shall  possess  it  and  dwell  therein.  And  ye  shall  ob- 
serve to  do  all  the  statutes  and  the  judgments  which 
I  set  before  you  this  day." 

When,  returning  to  our  tribes,  we  reported  to  them 
this  second  speech  of  Moses  it  affected  them  as  it  had 
affected  us,  our  sense  of  personal  bereavement  in  the 
loss  of  our  great  leader  became  subdued  and  in  quiet 


34  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

reflection  upon  the  laws  our  God  had  given  us  we  began 
to  see  what  a  priceless  possession  they  were  and  that 
they  would  go  with  us,  they  could  not  be  taken  from 
us  if  we  carefully  cherished  and  obeyed  them. 

The  early  morning  hours  of  the  next  few  days  were 
spent  by  each  tribe  in  hearing  the  law.  The  people  were 
assembled  before  the  tents  and  the  leading  elders  tak- 
ing turns,  read  the  laws  aloud  and  explained  them  in 
the  hearing  of  all.  This  was  the  first  time  the  whole 
collection  of  the  laws  given  on  various  occasions  dur- 
ing the  past  few  years,  some  at  Sinai,  others  on  our 
journeys,  had  been  read  to  all  the  people  as  a  whole. 
We  now  knew  how  fully  God  had  through  Moses  pro- 
vided for  the  life  we  were  to  lead  in  the  land  of 
promise.  There  was  the  assurance  in  this  provision 
not  only  that  we  were  to  take  possession  of  the  land, 
but  that  our  prosperity  would  depend  upon  the  kind 
of  life  we  as  a  nation  lived  in  the  land. 

After  this  deliberate  time  of  instruction  there  fol- 
lowed a  third  call  of  the  silver  trumpets  and  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  tribes  again  assembled  at  the  Tent 
of  Meeting.  Moses  in  this  third  speech*  described  in 
very  earnest  and  striking  terms  the  blessings  which 
would  follow  a  hearty  and  constant  obedience  to  the 
laws.  "The  Lord  shall  establish  thee  for  an  holy  peo- 
ple, he  will  open  his  treasury  to  bless  all  the  work  of 
thine  hand,  all  the  peoples  of  the  earth  shall  honor 
thee,  thou  shalt  lend  and  not  borrow,  thou  shalt  lead 
and  not  follow,  thou  shalt  be  called  by  the  name  of 
the  Lord."  The  thrilling  tones  of  blessing  now  gave 
place  to  the  stern  threatening  of  the  awful  curse  which 

•Deuteronomy,  Chapter  28:  1-68. 


MOSES  35 

would  follow  the  disobedience  of  God's  laws:  "If  thou 
servest  not  the  Lord  thy  God  with  joy  fulness  and  with 
gladness  of  heart,  thou  shalt  serve  thine  enemies  in 
hunger  and  in  thirst  and  in  nakedness  and  in  want  of 
all  things." 

Moses  in  this  speech  directed  that  when  we  had 
taken  possession  of  the  land  we  should  set  apart  two 
mountains  near  the  center  of  the  land  with  a  narrow 
valley  between  them,  as  the  mountains  of  blessing  and 
cursing,  that  these  laws  should  be  carved  in  stone  upon 
the  sides  of  these  mountains,  and  that  once  in  every 
seven  years  the  twelve  tribes  in  large  numbers  should 
assemble  in  solemn  convocation,  six  tribes  upon  the 
one  mountain  and  six  upon  the  other,  that  the  elders 
in  the  valley  between  the  mountains  should  read  the 
thrilling  blessings  and  the  stern  cursings  Moses  had 
given,  and  as  each  blessing  was  read  the  six  tribes  on 
the  mountain  of  blessing  should  respond  with  a  loud 
Amen  and  as  each  cursing  was  read  the  six  tribes 
upon  the  mountain  of  cursing  should  respond  with 
their  solemn  Amen  ;  and  that  thus  the  memory  of  this 
charge  of  their  great  leader  should  be  kept  alive 
through  all  the  coming  generations. 

When  the  assembly  to  whom  Moses  had  spoken 
broke  up  and  the  representatives  of  the  people  re- 
turned to  the  tribes,  each  tribe  was  assembled  before 
the  tents  and  the  elders  told  them  of  the  blessings  and 
the  cursings  and  all  the  people  responded  with  their 
solemn  Amens.  Moses  now  sent  directions  through 
all  the  encampment  that  when  the  next  assembly  of 
the  representatives  of  the  tribes  was  called  all  the 
people,  the  men  and  the  women  and  even  the  children 


36  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

should  gather  before  the  tents  facing  the  Tent  of 
Meeting,  and  that  they  should  listen  and  observe  what 
the  elders  and  captains  did  and  said,  and  that  then 
they  all  should  do  and  say  the  same  things. 

When  the  next  morning  after  the  early  worship, 
while  the  smoke  of  the  sacrifice  was  still  rising  through 
the  still,  clear  air,  the  three  long,  loud  blasts  of  the 
silver  trumpets  sounded  through  the  camp,  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  tribes  gathered  to  hear  Moses  and  all 
the  people  assembled  before  the  tents  facing  the  Tent 
of  Meeting.  There  followed  a  wonderful  and  aw^e- 
inspiring  sight.  The  Cloud  that  had  led  us  through 
all  our  journeys  descended  from  its  great  height  as  it 
had  often  done  when  we  were  to  break  up  our  camp  and 
take  up  our  journey  again,  but  now  besides  hovering 
as  usual  over  the  Tent  of  Meeting  it  took  possession  of 
it,  especially  of  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and  glowing  with 
a  mystic  light  brighter  far  than  it  usually  had  at  night 
it  made  the  Tent  itself  luminous  in  the  sunshine.  Our 
fathers  had  told  us  of  the  lightnings  of  God's  presence 
as  he  descended  upon  Mount  Sinai  at  the  giving  of  the 
Ten  Commandments  and  now  in  this  glowing  Cloud 
God  seemed  to  manifest  his  special  presence  again  to 
all  the  people. 

Moses  now  spoke*  to  the  assembled  elders  and  cap- 
tains of  the  covenant  God  had  made  with  us  at  Mount 
Horeb,  that  he  would  take  us  for  his  people;  and  he 
now  urged  us  to  make  our  covenant  with  him,  that  we 
choose  him  to  be  our  God  and  King.  With  most  solemn 
earnestness  he  told  us  of  all  God  had  done  for  us,  but 
that  we  had  not  fully  understood  and  responded  to  his 

•  Deuteronomy,  Chapters  29:  2  to  31:  8. 


MOSES  37 

great  deeds;  the  Lord,  he  said,  **had  not  given  you  a 
heart  to  know  and  eyes  to  see  and  ears  to  hear  unto  this 
day."  Now  he  had  come  specially  near  to  us  at  the 
close  of  our  wanderings  and  as  we  were  about  to  enter 
upon  the  land  he  had  promised  us.  He  had  given  us 
his  laws  and  now  he  offered  to  write  them  upon  our 
hearts,  they  should  be  our  most  precious  possession, 
and  we  were  to  be  loyal  to  him  as  our  King ;  we  must 
now  turn  to  him  with  all  the  heart  and  all  the  soul,  we 
must  choose  him  as  he  had  chosen  us.  With  thrilling 
speech  Moses  now  closed  his  appeal :  "I  call  heaven  and 
earth  to  witness,  I  have  set  before  thee  this  day  life  and 
death,  therefore  choose  life,  to  love  the  Lord  thy  God, 
to  obey  his  voice  and  to  cleave  unto  him,  for  he  is  thy 
life."  He  paused;  and  under  the  spell  of  his  eloquence, 
swayed  by  him  to  do  what  we  knew  to  be  right,  all  the 
elders  and  captains  lifted  their  hands  toward  the  glow- 
ing Cloud  shining  over  and  through  the  Holy  of  Holies 
and  with  loud  and  solemn  voice  declared,  *'We  choose 
the  Lord  to  be  our  God  and  King,"  and  then  we  all 
prostrated  ourselves  with  our  faces  to  the  ground  be- 
fore him.  All  the  people  gathered  before  their  tents 
heard  the  solemn  avowal  and  witnessed  the  solemn 
action  and  they  too  responded  *'Amen,  we  choose  the 
Lord  to  be  our  God  and  King,"  and  they  too  pros- 
trated themselves  with  their  faces  to  the  ground  before 
God. 

Moses  now  urged  us  to  "be  strong  and  of  a  good 
courage,  for  the  Lord  thy  God,  he  will  go  with  thee, 
he  will  not  fail  thee  nor  forsake  thee."  He  then  called 
Joshua  forth  from  the  assembled  leaders  of  the  tribes 
and  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people  appointed  him  to  be 


38  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

the  leader  of  the  host  and  assured  him  that  the  Lord 
would  be  with  him  to  lead  his  people  into  the  land 
he  had  promised  their  fathers  to  give  unto  them.  Moses 
and  Joshua  now  turned  and  presented  themselves  be- 
fore the  Lord  whose  presence  was  seen  in  the  glowing 
Cloud  hovering  over  and  shining  through  the  Holy  of 
Holies  of  the  Tent  of  Meeting.  The  withdrawal  of 
Moses  preparing  for  his  death  and  the  appointment  of 
Joshua  as  the  leader  of  the  host,  and  the  choice  of  the 
leaders  and  of  all  the  people  so  solemnly  made  of  the 
Lord  to  be  their  God  and  King  were  all  then  accepted 
by  the  Lord.  The  Cloud  of  his  presence  now  slowly 
rose  to  a  great  height  in  the  clear  air  and  remained 
standing  over  the  camp.  Moses  on  his  return  to  the 
assembled  leaders  of  the  tribes  gave  them  a  song  God 
had  directed  him  to  prepare  which  they  were  to  give 
to  all  the  people  to  commemorate  this  great  day  of  the 
choice  of  God  by  all  the  people.  It  was  to  be  sung 
through  all  the  coming  generations  with  its  solemn 
warning  and  its  lofty  cheer.  The  song  of  Moses  and 
Miriam  at  the  crossing  of  the  Red  Sea  had  been  the 
exhilaration  of  the  people  on  their  wanderings  in  the 
wilderness,  now  this  song  of  Moses  at  the  choice  of  all 
the  people  of  their  Divine  King  was  to  be  added,  to 
keep  ever  fresh  in  mind  and  heart  this  glorious  day 
with  its  appeal  to  loyalty  to  God  and  confidence  in  him. 
Moses  as  he  dismissed  the  assembly  gave  directions 
that  on  the  following  morning  after  the  sacrifice,  all 
the  tribes  were  to  assemble  before  their  tents  and 
remain  standing  there  waiting  for  him  and  he  once 
again  and  now  for  the  last  time  would  visit  them. 
There  was  little  sleeping  in  the  camp  that  night,  every 


MOSES  39 

heart  was  thrilled  by  the  momentous  events  of  the  day 
and  in  anticipation  of  the  morrow  when  their  vener- 
ated leader  whom  they  loved  as  a  father  would  make 
his  farewell  visit  to  each  tribe. 

In  this  as  in  all  our  encampments  there  were  three 
tribes  in  front  of  the  Tent  of  Meeting,  three  tribes  on 
each  side  and  three  in  the  rear.  Between  the  tribes 
and  the  Tent  of  Meeting  there  was  a  large  open  space, 
over  this  space  a  strong  voice  might  carry  in  the  still, 
clear  air  and  the  action  of  a  group  of  men  might  be 
easily  seen.  This  morning  the  air  was  as  clear  as 
crystal  and  as  still  as  still  could  be. 

Moses*  came  forth  from  the  Tent  of  Meeting  alone 
and  at  once  advanced  to  the  first  tribe.  He  remained 
with  that  tribe  a  little  while  and  seemed  to  be  talking 
familiarly  with  them,  he  then  lifted  up  his  hand  and  in 
a  loud  voice  blessed  them:  "Let  Reuben  live  and  not 
die.  And  let  not  his  men  be  few."  He  then  passed  to 
the  next  tribe,  spoke  familiarly  with  them,  again  we 
saw  him  lift  his  hands  in  blessing  and  again  we  heard 
his  thrilling  voice  as  he  said :  "Hear  Lord  the  voice  of 
Judah,  and  bring  him  in  unto  his  people.  With  his 
hands  he  contended  for  himself.  And  thou  shalt  be  a 
help  against  his  adversaries." 

We  now  saw  that  our  tribe  belonged  to  the  last 
division  he  would  visit  and  that  while  his  progress  was 
deliberate  it  could  not  well  be  over  a  couple  of  hours 
before  he  would  reach  us.  We  also  noticed  that  as  he 
passed  from  one  tribe  to  the  next  a  single  man  from 
the  tribe  came  from  the  ranks  to  accompany  him,  and 
soon  a  growing  group  of  men  followed  at  a  little  dis- 

*Deuteronomy,  Chapter  33. 


40  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

tance  from  him.  As  he  passed  to  the  second  division 
of  the  tribes  his  voice  in  blessing  each  tribe  became 
somewhat  lost  in  the  distance  and  his  action  became 
some  little  indistinct  to  us  as  we  watched  him.  The 
Tent  of  Meeting  was  between  that  division  and  ours. 
Our  eyes  wandered  from  his  stately  progress  at  times, 
we  looked  up  at  the  Cloud  of  mystery  high  in  the 
heavens,  we  looked  over  where  Moses  was  passing  the 
tribes,  to  the  beautiful  land  beyond  the  great  lake,  the 
land  so  soon  now  to  be  our  home;  but  these  wonderful 
scenes  could  not  long  claim  our  attention  from  him. 
Sometimes  also  we  looked  behind  us  at  the  steep  and 
lofty  mountain  which  rose  from  the  ridge  of  the  desert. 
We  had  often  been  tempted  to  climb  that  mountain  but 
the  laws  of  the  encampment  were  very  strict  that  no 
one  should  venture  beyond  its  bounds.  Then  again  we 
watched  Moses  as  he  and  the  group  of  men  following 
him  advanced  toward  us. 

At  length  he  came  to  our  tribe.  There  was  a  great 
sorrow  and  a  wonderful  joy  upon  his  face  as  we  now 
looked  upon  him.  He  spoke  to  the  women  words  of 
tetiderness  and  cheer.  He  laid  his  hand  on  the  heads 
of  the  children  as  they  came  to  him  and  blessed  them. 
He  counselled  the  leaders  concerning  their  duties.  He 
called  our  chief  leader  to  join  the  group  following  him, 
and  then  lifted  up  his  hand  and  blessing  us  said:  "O 
Naphtali,  satisfied  with  favor,  and  full  with  the  bless- 
ing of  the  Lord,  Possess  thou  the  west  and  the  south." 
As  he  passed  to  the  next  tribe  our  hearts  would  fain 
have  followed  him.  How  could  we  let  him  go  ?  How 
could  we  think  of  never  seeing  his  face  again,  of  never 
hearing  his  voice? 


MOSES  41 

When  he  had  blessed  the  last  tribe  of  our  division  he 
spoke  a  few  words  of  quiet  command  and  a  way  was 
opened  for  him,  and  he  and  the  group  of  the  leaders 
following  him  passed  through  the  tribe  and  began 
climbing  the  mountain  behind  us.  When  he  had 
reached  the  first  resting-place  he  turned  and  lifting  his 
hands  he  blessed  all  the  tribes,  his  wonderful  voice 
could  be  heard  in  all  the  camp  as  he  said :  "The  eternal 
God  is  thy  dwelling-place  and  underneath  are  the  ever- 
lasting arms."  He  looked  long  upon  the  camp  and 
upon  the  Cloud  and  upon  the  far  away  hills  of  the 
Promised  Land  and  then  turned  to  resume  the  ascent 
of  the  mountain. 

When  they  were  near  the  top  we  saw  them  stop  and 
Moses  spoke  to  his  followers.  It  was  a  short  message 
but  at  its  close  they  stood  still  and  he  went  on  alone. 
Our  eyes  followed  him  longingly  as  he  slowly  climbed 
the  steep  peak  and  at  length  stood  upon  its  top.  He 
now  looked  back  upon  us,  a  long,  lingering  look  and 
then  he  crossed  to  the  farther  side  of  the  peak.  We 
watched  and  watched  for  his  return,  but  he  did  not 
come  back.    Our  eyes  saw  him  no  more. 

The  group  of  men  who  had  accompanied  him  waited 
a  long  time  on  the  mountain-side,  at  times  they  seemed 
about  to  follow  him,  but  at  length  as  the  evening  dark- 
ness began  to  gather  they  returned  to  the  camp.  They 
reported  to  us  that  Moses  had  told 'them  that  he  must 
go  on  alone  and  that  he  would  never  return,  that  God 
would  show  him  the  land  so  dear  to  him  from  the 
mountain-top,  that  he  would  then  die  and  God  would 
bury  him.  He  then  charged  us  that  neither  we  nor 
any  from  the  camp  should  ever  climb  to  the  mountain 


42  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

top,  should  ever  try  to  find  the  place  of  his  sepulchre, 
that  we  must  leave  him  in  the  keeping  of  his  God. 

During  the  remaining  days  of  our  encampment  that 
mountain-top  dominated  our  thought,  fascinated, 
tyrannized  over  us.  When  it  caught  the  first  rays  of  the 
rising  sun,  when  the  glare  of  the  noon-day  covered  it, 
when  the  evening  shadows  clothed  it,  when  the  silent 
stars  passed  over  it  our  eyes  watched  it  dimmed  with 
tears;  it  had  lifted  our  beloved  leader  from  our  sight; 
it  was  his  lofty  sepulchre. 

Then  one  evening  the  Cloud  descended  and  hovered 
over  the  Tent  of  Meeting,  it  was  the  signal  to  prepare 
to  march.  The  next  day  all  was  orderly  and  rapid 
preparation,  but  often  we  paused  to  look  long  and 
eagerly  to  the  mountain-top.  When  the  next  morning 
the  Cloud  moved  in  its  mysterious  majesty,  it  led  us 
around  the  foot  of  the  mountain  and  over  the  ridge  of 
the  desert  to  the  northward.  We  now  saw  the  river 
flowing  into  the  great  lake,  we  saw  the  wide  valley  and 
the  steep  hills  far  to  the  north,  we  descended  into  the 
valley  coming  near  to  the  river  where  the  Cloud  de- 
scended arid  we  formed  the  camp  for  the  night.  The 
next  morning  the  mysterious  Cloud,  so  long  familiar 
to  our  eyes,  vanished  away,  and  we  never  saw  it  again. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  STORY  OF  TWO  GREAT  ORATIONS  IN 

THE  CITY  OF  SAMARIA,  BY  AMOS  AND 

HOSEA,  DURING  THE  REIGN  OF 

JEROBOAM  II 

A  Letter  from  a  Prince  of  Israel  to  a  Merchant 
Prince  of  Tyre 

Fair  Samaria,  the  city  of  the  ivory  palaces,  the 
capital  of  our  flourishing  kingdom,  has  put  on  her 
gala-dress  today.  Her  banners  proudly  wave  from 
every  vantage  point,  her  people  in  their  festal  robes 
throng  her  streets  and  parks,  while  shouts  and  songs 
and  laughter  everywhere  resound.  The  news  has  just 
reached  us  that  our  great  King  has  captured  Damascus 
and  that  he  is  leading  our  victorious  armies  to  take 
possession  of  the  rich  plains  along  the  rivers  beyond 
the  northern  mountains.  Soon  he  will  return  laden 
with  the  spoils  of  great  cities  and  those  prosperous 
lands  will  henceforth  pour  in  their  rich  tribute  to  our 
growing  wealth  and  power.  But  underneath  all  our 
triumphant  joy  there  runs  a  strange  feeling  of  depres- 
sion, we  are  conscious  even  in  this  hour  of  victory  of 
a  deep  foreboding  of  coming  ruin.  We  know  it  is  not 
awakened  by  any  lack  of  confidence  in  our  victorious 
King,  he  is  as  prudent  as  bold,  a  wise  statesman  as 
well  as  a  great  warrior.  But  recently  we  have  been 
under  the  spell  of  two  great  orations  spoken  to  thou- 

43 


44  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

sands  in  the  assembly  squares  of  our  city,  and  spread 
by  them  among  all  the  people.  One  speaker  was  from 
the  nation  south  of  ours,  the  Kingdom  of  Judah,  the 
other  was  one  of  our  own  people. 

The  orator  from  Jerusalem  called  himself  a  prophet 
of  Jehovah,  we  had  heard  long  before  of  his  proposed 
coming  and  we  were  fully  prepared  to  give  him  a  hot 
reception.  Why  should  he  intrude  himself  and  his 
counsels  in  our  affairs?  What  right  had  Judah  to 
send  us  any  messenger?  What  right  had  Jerusalem 
to  compare  herself  at  all  with  Samaria?  For  a  long 
time  we  had  indeed  been  rival  cities  but  that  time  was 
past  forever.  The  father  of  our  present  King  had 
led  our  victorious  armies  into  Judah,  he  had  captured 
Jerusalem  and  broken  down  her  walls,  he  had  despoiled 
her  temple  and  palaces  and  brought  many  captives 
back  to  Samaria.  Judah  still  existed  and  Jerusalem 
too,  but  largely  through  our  generosity.  Jerusalem 
had  indeed  the  great  Temple  of  Solomon,  it  fairly 
dominated  the  city,  it  cast  its  shadow  upon  her  palaces, 
it  frowned  upon  her  pleasures,  it  restricted  her  plans, 
but  so  much  more  our  reason  to  rejoice  that  we  were 
free  from  its  baleful  influences.  Then  came  our  pres- 
ent King,  the  great  Jeroboam;  he  carried  our  power 
far  to  the  east,  and  the  lands  east  of  the  Jordan  and 
far  south  to  the  Dead  Sea  became  tributary  to  us; 
they  sent  their  flocks  and  herds,  their  gold  and  silver, 
their  ivory  and  spices  to  enrich  our  city.  Now  Jero- 
boam was  conquering  our  northern  enemies  and  re- 
storing and  even  enlarging  the  Kingdom  of  David  and 
Solomon  and  making  it  our  own.  The  Ten  Tribes 
formed  the  real  Kingdom  of  Israel;  Judah  with  its 


AMOS,  HOSEA  45 

dependent  tribe  was  too  small  and  weak  to  compare 
with  us.  We  held  not  only  by  far  the  largest  but  the 
richest  portion  of  the  land,  the  land  that  had  not  felt 
the  touch  of  drouth  since  the  time  of  Ahab,  a  land 
flowing  with  milk  and  honey.  Judah  need  not  send 
her  prophet  to  teach  us  about  the  Lord  God,  she  had 
no  need  to  instruct  us  about  him,  she  had  an  entirely 
wrong  view  of  him. 

We  too  might  have  erred  in  our  former  views  of 
him  but  Jehu,  the  head  of  our  present  line  of  kings, 
had  broken  down  the  House  of  Baal  in  our  city  and 
now  we  worshiped  Jehovah  as  represented  in  the  Calf. 
The  sculptured  bull  stood  in  the  grove  on  the  highest 
mound  in  our  fair  city,  the  symbol  of  prolific  life,  of 
pleasure  and  power.  Surely  Jehovah  wanted  his 
favored  children  to  enjoy  life  to  the  full,  he  would 
not  restrict  and  restrain  them  from  luxurious  living 
and  wide  dominion.  Our  great  prosperity  came  from 
Jehovah  and  we  could  honor  him  only  by  enjoying  it. 
Jonah,  the  son  of  Amittai,  the  prophet  of  Jehovah,  had 
foretold  the  triumphs  of  Jeroboam,  had  really  directed 
him  in  his  conquests  and  so  made  plain  to  us  all  that 
Jehovah  approved  our  worship  of  him.  Had  not  the 
same  Jonah  been  sent  to  Nineveh  the  capital  of 
Assyria,  that  great  power  looming  up  in  the  far  north- 
east which  might  sometime  threaten  our  welfare,  to 
denounce  to  them  a  message  of  destruction  from 
Jehovah?  And  although  Nineveh  was  spared  for  the 
present  it  was  only  spared  because  of  its  repentance, 
it  would  flourish  only  as  long  as  it  did  not  molest  us ; 
so  we  reasoned  and  confirmed  ourselves  in  our  proud 
views  of  our  own  prosperity  and  in  our  disdain  of 


46  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

Jerusalem.  Then  too  we  learned  by  probable  report 
that  this  prophet  of  Jehovah  coming  to  us  was  not 
one  of  the  princes  of  Jerusalem,  not  even  a  citizen  of 
the  capital  city,  that  he  was  only  a  farmer,  a  herds- 
man in  the  poor  lands  south  of  Jerusalem;  and  that 
he  was  not  sent  by  any  body  of  men  either  prophets, 
priests  or  rulers  but  was  coming  of  his  own  purpose 
with  a  deep  and  irresistible  conviction  that  he  felt 
impelled  to  come. 

So  we  waited  his  coming  with  hot  resentment  and 
disdain  in  our  hearts. 

Soon  it  was  reported  that  he  had  entered  the  city 
and  would  address  the  people  the  next  morning  in  the 
assembly  square  near  the  south  gate.  A  great  multi- 
tude of  all  classes  gathered  to  hear  him,  curiosity  to 
see  what  kind  of  a  man  he  was  and  who  attended 
upon  him,  was  the  leading  motive  that  brought  us 
together,  though  some  of  us  thought  perhaps  there 
might  be  some  importance  attached  to  his  message. 
The  crowd  excited  itself  speedily  with  mutterings  of 
contempt  for  Judah  and  her  herdsman  messenger 
which  soon  became  cries  of  scorn  and  bitter  cursings. 
The  more  moderate  among  us  became  apprehensive  of 
violence  against  him  and  his  followers  which  would 
disgrace  our  liberal-minded  city  as  if  we  were  afraid  to 
hear  what  our  inferior  neighbors  could  say  about  us, 
but  our  efforts  to  quiet  the  mob  were  vain,  our  bush- 
ings for  silence  were  turned  at  once  into  many  hissings 
of  contempt  and  hatred. 

Suddenly  there  came  a  great  change  over  the  crowd, 
the  cursings  and  hissings  were  speedily  subdued  into 
respectful  silence  as  a  middle  aged  man  came  through 


AMOS,  HOSEA  47 

the  door  back  of  the  platform  and  advancing  alone 
stood  facing  the  multitude.  He  was  tall  and  well- 
built  and  of  great  dignity  of  bearing.  With  utmost 
self  possession  he  looked  over  the  surging,  angry  throng 
waiting  for  and  thus  seeming  even  to  demand  a  hear- 
ing. His  bravery  awakened  our  admiration,  his  confi- 
dence in  our  being  willing  to  hear  him  was  itself  a 
compelling  appeal  to  us.  When  he  began  to  speak  his 
voice  thrilled  us,  it  was  far-carrying,  well  modulated, 
clear,  distinct  and  musical  and  his  language  was  well 
chosen;  this  man  might  be  a  farmer  but  evidently  he 
was  no  boorish  man  but  one  of  fine  powers  and  much 
culture. 

His  first  words*  claimed  our  fixed  attention :  Amos 
spoke  not  a  word  about  himself,  made  no  apology  for 
his  coming,  not  even  an  explanation  of  it  but  at  once 
with  deep  solemnity  and  earnest  sincerity  entered  upon 
his  great  message.  *'Jehovah  will  roar  from  Zion  and 
utter  his  voice  from  Jerusalem  and  the  habitations  of 
the  shepherds  shall  mourn  and  the  top  of  Carmel  shall 
wither."  We  had  always  associated  the  thunder  re- 
verberating over  the  hills  with  the  voice  of  Jehovah 
and  here  was  an  intimation  that  he  w^ould  mainly 
judge  the  southern  kingdom  for  that  was  more  a  land 
of  shepherds,  ours  was  an  open  country  of  cultivated 
fields  of  grain  and  our  hills  were  covered  with  olive- 
orchards  and  vineyards,  Carmel  was  ours  truly  but 
if  only  its  top  withered  w^e  could  easily  endure  that. 
After  a  short  but  impressive  pause  Amos  turned  our 
thoughts  far  to  our  northern  enemies  where  our  King 
was  now  leading  our  armies.     We  could  hardly  be- 

•  Amos,  the  whole  book. 


48  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

lieve  our  ears  when  we  heard  him  say  with  great 
fervor,  "Thus  saith  Jehovah,  Tor  three  transgressions 
of  Damascus,  yea  for  four,  I  will  not  turn  away  the 
punishment  thereof  because  they  have  threshed  Gilead 
with  threshing  instruments  of  iron,  and  Syria  shall 
go  into  captivity.' ''  So  this  prophet  says  our  cause  is 
just,  for  Damascus  had  threshed  Gilead  which  b> 
longed  by  right  to  us,  we  had  recaptured  it  and  we 
were  now  besieging  Damascus  and  this  prophet  fore- 
tells we  will  capture  it,  that  we  will  capture  the  palaces 
of  Benhadad  and  that  our  victorious  King  will  bring 
all  the  north  border,  all  Syria,  into  captivity  to  us. 
Our  people  are  quick  to  apply  messages  to  others 
and  are  easily  excited  with  good  news  and  readily 
change  their  feelings;  a  little  while  before  they  were 
cursing  the  prophet ;  now  they  gave  him  wild  approval, 
they  waved  their  arms,  they  clapped  their  hands  and 
shouted  their  applause.  This  is  a  great  prophet,  he 
says  Jehovah  will  give  us  victory  over  our  strong 
enemies  and  bring  them  into  subjection  to  us.  Amos 
now  with  the  same  fervor  turned  to  our  other  enemies, 
first  to  the  south,  then  to  the  north,  then  again  to  the 
far  south  and  to  the  east,  and  with  the  same  telling 
phrase,  "Thus  saith  Jehovah,  For  three  transgressions, 
yea  for  four,"  he  threatened  the  punishment  of  God 
against  Gaza,  against  Tyre,  against  Edom,  against 
Ammon,  against  Moab.  As  he  advanced  he  became 
more  and  more  eloquent,  carried  along  by  his  enrap- 
tured vision  of  coming  judgment;  and  we  too  became 
fascinated  with  his  conception  of  the  glory  of  Jehovah 
as  the  ruler  and  judge  of  all  the  nations.  In  each 
case  Amos  gave  the  reason  for  the  threatened  punish- 


AMOS,  HOSEA  49 

ment,  evidently  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the  his- 
tory of  our  people  in  the  far  off  as  well  as  in  the  near 
by  past.  In  the  early  day  Gaza  and  Tyre  rejoiced  in 
the  effort  of  Edom  to  bring  our  whole  people  into 
bitter  captivity,  in  more  recent  days  our  eastern  neigh- 
bors Ammon  and  Moab  had  been  exceedingly  cruel 
in  their  warfare  against  us  and  in  all  the  cases  there 
had  not  been  simply  a  single  and  solitary  offence  but 
many:  "three  transgressions,  yea  four."  ^'Justice, 
justice,"  we  cried  under  the  spell  of  the  eloquence  of 
Amos  "that  is  right,  that  is  right,  Edom  deserves  it, 
Moab  deserves  it,  it  is  right,  it  is  just." 

The  prophet  had  renewed  our  faith  in  the  God  of 
our  fathers,  in  the  great  Ruler  of  all  nations;  and  he 
had  appealed  to  our  slumbering  conscience  and  aroused 
it  to  approve  of  truth  and  righteousness.  To  our 
unspeakable  surprise  Amos  now,  with  great  sadness 
but  with  intense  passion,  with  tears  in  his  voice,  turned 
to  his  own  nation,  our  rival  nation,  and  using  his 
choice  phrase,  now  burned  into  our  consciences,  said, 
"For  three  transgressions  of  Judah,  yea  for  four  I 
will  not  turn  away  the  punishment  thereof.  Because 
they  have  despised  the  law  of  Jehovah  I  will  send  a 
fire  upon  Judah  and  it  shall  devour  the  palaces  of 
Jerusalem."  Our  consciences  recognized  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  threatened  judgment  but  now  we  could 
not  break  forth  into  shouts  of  approval  as  in  the  other 
cases,  our  feelings  were  subdued  for  we  remembered 
that  Judah,  after  all  the  hard  rivalry  of  our  recent 
separation,  was  still  our  brother. 

Amos  now  at  length  brought  his  message  home  to 
us;  with  sorrow  for  us  thrilling  in  his  voice  and  still 


50  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

with  passionate  earnestness  as  the  prophet  of  the  Most 
High  he  said,  "Thus  saith  Jehovah,  For  three  trans- 
gressions of  Israel,  yea  for  four,  I  will  not  turn  away 
the  punishment  thereof.  Because  they  have  sold  the 
righteous  for  silver,  they  pant  after  the  dust  of  the 
earth  on  the  head  of  the  poor,  and  turn  aside  the  way 
of  the  meek."  We  listened  in  awe-struck  silence,  we 
could  not  do  otherwise  than  listen.  We  seemed  in  the 
presence  of  Jehovah  himself,  the  just  Ruler  of  all  the 
nations,  Amos  was  his  messenger,  we  listened  as  for 
our  lives,  we  hung  upon  his  words  as  they  took  posses- 
sion of  our  consciences. 

He  did  not  rebuke  us  for  worshiping  our  God  by 
means  of  the  Calf  whose  image  in  the  grove  crowned 
the  highest  place  of  our  city;  he  did  not  denounce  us 
as  idolaters  as  if  we  had  forsaken  Jehovah,  he  ac- 
knowledged that  we  offered  our  worship  to  him;  but 
he  claimed  that  we  made  it  the  occasion  of  confirming 
ourselves  in  our  transgressions  against  our  brethren, 
in  our  losing  all  sense  of  brotherhood.  He  spoke  as 
if  Jehovah  spoke  through  him,  "I  hate  your  solemn 
assemblies,  I  despise  your  feasts,  I  spurn  your  sacri- 
fices and  peace  offerings.  If  you  would  truly  worship 
me  let  judgment  roll  down  as  waters  and  righteousness 
as  an  overflowing  stream  through  your  streets  and 
through  your  land." 

Now  there  followed  the  swift  and  stern  indictment 
of  the  injustice,  the  luxury,  the  licentiousness,  the 
hardness  of  heart  of  our  selfish  indulgence;  he  did 
not  mince  matters,  he  did  not  seek  to  clothe  grave 
faults  with  pleasing  words  but  set  them  forth  in  their 
hideous  nakedness.     "Ye  have  no  respect  for  family 


AMOS,  HOSEA  51 

ties  nor  for  the  virtue  of  young  womanhood,  ye  do 
deeds  of  violence  and  lust. 

**Ye  hate  him  that  speaketh  uprightly,  ye  turn  right- 
eous judgment  into  gall  and  wormwood. 

"Ye  live  in  luxury,  ye  sing  idle  songs,  ye  drink  wine 
in  bowls,  but  ye  have  no  sympathy  for  your  afflicted 
brethren. 

"Ye  have  houses  of  hewn  stone,  ye  have  beds  of 
ivory,  ye  have  pleasant  vineyards  but  ye  trample  upon 
the  poor,  ye  crush  the  needy." 

Alas  we  felt  that  in  these  stern  words  he  truthfully 
described  what  our  great  prosperity  had  wrought  in 
us,  that  we  had  pursued  pleasure  and  power  recklessly 
and  that  in  worshiping  the  sculptured  bull  we  had 
cultivated  and  confirmed  ourselves  in  sensuality. 

The  prophet  recounted  how  many  calls  we  had  to 
turn  from  these  low  views  of  God  as  if  he  approved 
of  our  indulgent  lives,  and  in  the  same  telling  phrase 
repeated  time  and  time  again,  "Yet  ye  have  not  re- 
turned unto  me  saith  Jehovah"  he  rebuked  our  per- 
sistency, there  were  indeed  "three  transgressions  yea 
four";  and  at  length  he  cried  aloud  in  a  way  that 
reached  and  awakened  and  troubled  our  conscience, 
"Therefore  prepare  O  Israel  to  meet  thy  God."  He 
now  set  before  us  with  all  the  rapt  gaze  of  the  impas- 
sioned orator,  vision  after  vision  of  advancing  judg- 
ment, he  entreated  for  us  but  in  vain,  Jehovah  had 
passed  an  irrevocable  sentence,  we  were  to  be  carried 
away  captive  beyond  Damascus. 

We  listened  in  silence,  once  only  there  was  a  fierce 
interruption.  Amaziah  the  priest  of  Bethel  threatened 
to  send  word  to  our  absent  King  and  he  called  upon 


52  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

the  prophet  to  fly  back  to  Judah  and  confine  his 
prophecy  to  that  nation.  The  answer  came  quick  and 
stern,  "The  King  shall  die  by  the  sword;  you,  oh 
priest  and  your  family,  shall  die  in  an  unclean  land. 
Israel  shall  surely  be  led  away  captive  out  of  his  land. 
Jehovah  has  sent  me,  I  came  not  of  myself;  he  took 
me  away  from  following  my  flock,  he  said.  Go  proph- 
esy to  my  people  Israel.  I  faithfully  give  you  his 
message." 

When  Amos  ceased  speaking  and  left  the  platform 
we  quietly  went  to  our  homes.  There  was  much 
troubled  sleep  in  Samaria  that  night  as  there  has  been 
ever  since.  The  next  day  we  supposed  he  would  speak 
to  us  again,  but  when  we  inquired  for  him  we  learned 
that  he  was  already  on  his  way  back  to  his  home. 

It  was  nearly  four  weeks  after  this  that  the  second 
great  oration  that  so  deeply  impressed  us  was  spoken, 
and  this  was  by  one  of  our  own  people,  a  man  in  high 
position  among  us  and  greatly  respected  by  all,  but 
one  whom  we  had  never  thought  of  as  a  prophet  of 
Jehovah,  nor  had  he  even  thought  this  of  himself, 
as  he  told  us,  until  a  short  time  before  he  was  forced 
by  this  feeling  to  speak  to  us.  Some  ten  years  ago 
HosEA  the  son  of  Beeri  had  married  Gomer  the  daugh- 
ter of  Diblaim,  both  were  of  noble  families  and  of 
great  wealth,  and  when  he  brought  her  as  a  bride  to 
his  palace  the  whole  city  shared  in  his  joy.  Gomer 
was  a  great  beauty  and  of  charming  manners,  she  had 
many  suitors  but  Hosea  easily  excelled  them  all  in 
position,  in  manly  qualities  and  bearing;  they  were 
both  young  and  it  was  a  marriage  of  ardent  love. 
Within  a  few  years  three  children  were  born,  two  boys 


AMOS,  HOSEA  53 

and  a  girl,  and  the  happy  home-Hfe  in  the  fair  palace 
flowed  buoyantly  on. 

Our  women  of  noble  rank  are  not  kept  in  seclusion 
as  is  the  case  with  some  of  our  neighboring  nations, 
they  freely  pass  through  our  streets,  meet  in  the  assem- 
blies of  the  people  and  take  part  in  the  public  worship. 
Often  Hosea  and  Gomer  were  seen  on  the  plain  before 
the  sculptured  Calf  of  Samaria,  taking  part  in  the 
dances  before  that  shrine;  they  both  loved  pleasure 
and  power  and  delighted  in  the  worship  of  this  God; 
she  was  a  splendid  dancer  as  was  he,  and  the  people 
admired  greatly  the  abandon  of  their  joy.  Their 
palace  was  the  center  of  gracious  and  luxurious  hospi- 
tality and  often  large  parties  gathered  there  in  dancing 
and  feasting ;  and  whenever  the  noble  and  the  wealthy 
of  other  lands  visited  our  proud  city  Hosea  and  his 
wife  gave  them  hearty  welcome  and  splendid  enter- 
tainment. Gomer  was  queenly  in  her  beauty,  in  her 
rich  robes  and  flashing  jewels  she  commanded  ad- 
miration of  all,  and  her  wealth  of  passionate  and 
happy  spirits  together  with  her  free  and  charming 
manners  fascinated  those  she  wished  to  please;  and 
Hosea  by  his  ability  and  energy  rose  from  place  to 
place  until  he  became  the  Governor  of  the  city  and 
next  to  the  King  in  honor  and  power. 

Some  three  years  ago  a  great  Prince  of  Judah 
visited  Samaria  with  a  large  retinue  and  was  enter- 
tained in  the  palace  of  the  King.  Much  attention  was 
paid  to  him  by  Hosea,  he  was  a  frequent  guest  at  his 
palace  and  it  was  noticeable  that  he  was  specially  fasci- 
nated by  Gomer  and  was  devoted  to  her  company. 
One  day  Hosea  visited  one  of  his  large  estates  on  the 


54  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

slope  of  the  mountains  toward  the  Jordan  valley  and 
spent  the  night  there.  When  he  returned  the  next 
morning  he  found  the  Prince  of  Judah  with  his  retinue 
had  left  the  city  and  had  taken  Gomer  with  him. 
Gathering  a  hundred  horsemen  he  followed  them  in 
hot  pursuit.  At  nightfall  they,  from  a  high  hil^  saw 
their  encampment  in  the  valley  beneath ;  now  a  strange 
revulsion  of  feeling  seized  Hosea.  He  felt  that  he 
could  easily  destroy  the  seducer  of  his  wife  and  cap- 
ture her.  But  such  a  slaughter  of  her  lover  would  be 
a  hideous  experience  to  her,  a  life-long  horror  and 
would  hopelessly  alienate  her  from  him,  and  to  have 
her  person  a  captive  in  his  palace  and  not  her  heart 
restored  to  him  would  sadden  his  whole  life  and  that 
of  his  children.  So  he  called  back  his  eager  horsemen 
and  returned  to  his  city  and  to  his  desolate  home. 

Speedy  disaster  came  to  the  Prince  of  Judah,  he  fell 
under  the  displeasure  of  his  king  who  confiscated  all 
his  property  leaving  only  a  single  house  near  Jeru- 
salem to  his  family,  and  sent  him  a  captive  to  be  held 
by  his  ally  the  King  of  Egypt.  Gomer  would  now 
have  suffered  great  hardship  had  not  Hosea  heard  of 
her  threatened  distress  and  sent  abundant  provisions 
for  her  support.  Gomer  thought  these  provisions 
came  from  the  Prince,  her  lover,  until  she  discovered 
among  those  who  brought  the  clothing  and  the  olives 
one  of  her  old  servants  in  Samaria  who  told  her  Hosea 
had  sent  them.  She  learned  also  from  him  how 
Hosea  had  followed  her  and  spared  her,  how  he  always 
spoke  kindly  of  her  to  the  children,  and  how  eagerly 
he  asked  about  her  when  they  returned  from  bringing 
his  gifts  to  her.     She  was  so  overwhelmed  by  this 


AMOS,  HOSEA  55 

constant  love  that  she  sent  him  a  message  asking  if  she 
could  come  back.  Hosea  came  himself  to  her  humble 
home  near  Jerusalem  and  brought  her  back  to  his 
palace  and  restored  her  to  her  place  as  his  wife;  and 
they  were  lovers  again  as  before,  the  joy  of  their 
home-life  being  fully  restored. 

But  Gomer  could  not  help  fascinating  men;  her 
remarkable  physical  beauty  and  form,  her  cheerful, 
happy  spirits  and  her  warm,  passionate  nature  appealed 
to  men;  and  it  was  not  rare  that  a  man  of  physical 
charm  and  ardent  nature  made  a  strong  appeal  to  her. 
So  the  inevitable  soon  happened  again.  This  time,  a 
member  of  an  embassy  from  Damascus  courted  her 
and  won  her  and  she  fled  with  him.  But  when  she 
reached  Damascus  she  found  her  lover  had  other 
wives,  that  she  was  the  favorite  but  only  one  of  many, 
and  she  soon  wearied  of  him.  So  tremblingly  she, 
with  a  few  attendants,  rode  back  to  Samaria ;  and  she 
entreated  Hosea  to  receive  her  again  into  his  home 
and  his  heart,  which  he  was  eager  to  do. 

Both  Hosea  and  Gomer  were  in  the  assembly  and 
near  to  the  platform  when  Amos  gave  his  message 
from  Jehovah,  when  he  so  sternly  and  faithfully  de- 
nounced the  self-indulgence  that  prevailed  in  our  city 
and  nation,  and  they  like  all  the  spell-bound  crowd 
were  greatly  impressed. 

The  next  day  Hosea,  with  a  few  attendants,  rode 
down  the  valley  to  the  coast  of  the  Great  Sea  to  in- 
spect that  part  of  the  country  left  in  his  charge  by  our 
absent  King ;  and  Gomer  and  her  maidens  gaily  waved 
their  farewells  from  his  palace  walls. 

A  week  before  this  a  wealthy  Prince  of   far-off 


56  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

Nineveh  who  had  visited  our  city  and  had  often  been 
a  guest  of  Hosea,  had  left  us  on  his  return  to  his  own 
country  and  we  thought  he  was  by  this  time  far  beyond 
the  borders  of  our  nation.  But  toward  evening  of  the 
day  Hosea  had  left  for  the  sea-coast  this  Prince  re- 
turned. He  threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  Gorrer,  told 
her  he  could  not  live  without  her,  and  pled  with  all 
his  ardent  love  that  she  would  share  his  life  and  for- 
tunes. The  next  day  she,  this  time  taking  her  three 
children  with  her,  fled  with,  her  lover  to  the  north. 
Word  was  sent  by  a  swift  courier  to  Hosea,  who  at 
once  returned. 

But  as  before  he  did  not  pursue  her  to  kill  her  lover 
and  capture  her,  he  would  not.  force  her  to  return  as 
his  slave,  he  could  not  satisfy  his  heart  with  anything 
less  than  her  love.  So  he  sent  messengers  after  her; 
he  wrote  her  a  letter  pleading  with  her  by  her  sense 
of  right,  by  her  past  experience,  by  the  interests  of 
his  own  and  her  children,  and  by  his  quenchless  love 
for  her  to  return  to  him.  In  a  week's  time  the  messen- 
gers returned,  they  had  caught  the  flying  pair  at  Tyre 
and  had  delivered  his  letter  and  his  messages  to  Gomer. 
But  Gomer  would  hardly  read  the  letter  or  listen  to 
their  pleas;  she  seemed  in  a  rapture  of  love  with  her 
Prince,  her  large,  languishing  eyes  beamed  only  on 
him,  her  thrilling  voice  was  all  tenderness  and  longing 
for  him ;  and  she  had  so  taught  her  children  too,  that 
they  were  eager  for  the  excitement  of  a  new  life  in 
reckless  and  splendid  Nineveh.  So  they  had  gone  on 
their  journey;  and  his  messengers  returned  without 
her  and  without  any  hope  of  her  ever  returning  to  him. 

Hosea  now  confined  himself  largely  within  the  walls 


AMOS,  HOSEA  57 

of  his  desolate  palace.  When  he  was  called  to  exercise 
the  powers  of  government,  especially  when  he  heard 
contested  cases  and  passed  judgment  upon  them,  there 
was  a  strange  mingling  of  sternness  and  leniency  in 
him.  He  withdrew  himself  from  all  the  busy  scenes 
and  the  gay,  joyous  life  of  our  city,  and  his  closest 
friends  could  hardly  obtain  an  audience  with  him.  He 
had  always  been  very  popular,  heartily  sharing  in  all 
the  pleasures  and  plans  of  our  prosperous  city;  but 
now  he  retired  from  the  people  and  was  wrapped  up 
in  his  gloomy  thoughts  and  great  distress.  We  all 
admired  him  and  we  shared  in  his  heart-troubles, 
though  there  were  many  who  could  not  sympathize 
with  him  in  his  sparing  the  lives  of  the  seducers  of  his 
wife  and  in  his  retaining  his  love  for  her. 

After  some  two  weeks  of  this  retirement  Hosea  sent 
out  word  through  the  city  that  he  wished  to  speak  at 
a  certain  hour  the  next  day  to  an  assembly  of  the 
people  on  the  hill-top  in  the  center  of  the  city  before 
the  grove  of  the  sculptured  Calf. 

Early  the  next  morning  the  people  assembled.  The 
glorious  sun  never  shone  upon  a  fairer  scene.  Be- 
neath us  lay  our  large  and  prosperous  city.  On  either 
side  and  before  us,  beyond  the  far  limits  of  the  city, 
rose  the  hills  and  mountains  terraced  to  their  tops 
with  vineyards  and  olive-groves  and  among  them  the 
many  villages  of  the  farmers  glimmering  in  the  sun- 
light. Back  of  us  stretched  the  broad  valley  for  many 
miles  with  its  meadows,  its  waving  fields  of  grain,  its 
prosperous  villages,  and  far-off  on  the  horizon  one 
could  catch  a  vision  of  the  Great  Sea.  Before  the 
grove  stood  the  white  marble  statue,  the  sculptured 


58  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

Calf  of  Samaria,  looking  down  upon  the  prosperous 
city  and  the  rich  valley  to  the  far-off  sea.  The  Egyp- 
tians worshiped  the  sun  as  the  source  of  life  and  of  all 
living  creatures  they  chose  the  bull  as  its  favorite 
symbol.  We  were  wiser  than  they,  we  worshipped 
Jehovah  as  the  source  of  life,  he  gave  the  sun,  itself, 
the  power  to  shine,  but  we  adopted  the  bull  as  the  chief 
symbol  of  life,  of  all  living  beings  the  most  prolific, 
most  powerful,  most  pleasure-loving.  Surely  our 
worship  had  been  greatly  approved  and  richly  blessed. 
Ours  was  a  fruitful  land;  ours,  a  triumphant  city; 
ours,  a  pleasure-loving  people. 

When  we  assembled  before  the  Calf  of  Samaria  we 
each  one  made  obeisance  to  him,  we  prostrated  our- 
selves before  him  as  the  source  of  all  good  to  us.  As 
we  waited  for  Hosea  we  recalled  to  each  other  the 
many  scenes  of  worship  which  he,  the  chief  man  of 
our  city,  had  there  shared  with  us  and  how  he  and 
the  pleasure-loving  Gomer  had  often  led  in  the  festal 
dance;  and  our  spirits  were  subdued  and  our  hearts 
saddened  as  we  thought  of  him  in  his  desertion  and 
of  her  in  the  embrace  of  her  false  lover  in  a  far-off 
land. 

When  at  length  Hosea  came  before  us  we  noticed 
that  he  made  no  obeisance  to  the  image  of  the  bull  and 
that  he  stood  with  his  back  to  it  as  he  spoke*  to  us. 

His  speech  from  beginning  to  end  was  a  torrent  of 
conflicting  emotions,  flaming  in  their  strength.  His 
voice  sometimes  rang  with  fierce  anger  and  would 
quickly  change  to  the  tenderest  and  most  yearning 
love;  his  eyes  flashed  with  hot  indignation  or  beamed 

•  Hosea,  the  whole  book. 


AMOS,  HOSEA  59 

with  touching  appeal ;  every  pose  he  took,  every  move- 
ment he  made,  all  his  intense  action  revealed  a  warrior 
striking  down  his  enemies  in  battle  or  a  mother  gather- 
ing her  children  in  her  arms.  He  spoke  freely  to  us 
of  his  wife  and  of  her  unfaithfulness  to  him,  of  his 
intense  and  burning  indignation  against  her  as  she 
went  after  her  false  lovers  and  of  his  fierce  anger 
against  her  seducers  and  then  he  told  us  how  he  could 
not  cease  to  love  her,  how  he  could  not,  try  as  he 
would,  tear  her  from  his  heart,  how  even  now  when 
there  was  no  hope  he  hungered  for  her  return,  how 
he  had  appealed  to  her,  how  he  would  welcome  her 
back ;  and  that.his  failure,  his  hopelessness  only  seemed 
to  deepen  his  love  for  her. 

Then  he  told  us  that  Jehovah  had  shown  him  how 
this  experience  of  his  for  these  few  years,  made  in- 
tense now  by  the  loss  of  his  wife  and  children,  was 
but  a  faint  reflection  of  his  own  burning  indignation 
and  quenchless  love  for  his  people  Israel  who  had, 
now  for  over  two  hundred  years,  been  false  to  him 
and  who  were,  at  this  very  moment,  given  up  to  their 
false  worship  of  the  Calf  of  Samaria.  He  showed 
him  how  they  knew  in  their  hearts  that  he  was  the 
righteous  and  pure  God  and  could  not  be  at  all  repre- 
sented in  the  lustful  and  dominant  bull,  that  in  wor- 
shiping the  bull  they  had  cast  off  all  self-restraint,  all 
obedience  to  God  in  righteous  living  and  had  given 
themselves  up  to  self-indulgence  in  the  wild  pursuit 
of  pleasure  and  the  lust  for  wide  and  selfish  dominion. 

Thus  he  showed  us  how  his  own  experience,  known 
to  us  all,  was  the  way  God  had  taught  him;  and  so 
commissioned  him  to  be  his  prophet  to  us  to  make  a 


6o  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

final,  appeal,  he  feared  a  hopeless  one,  to  turn  from 
the  brutal  bull  and  to  come  back  to  the  righteous  God. 
His  own  indignation  against  the  faithless  Gomer 
showed  us  God's  indignation  against  us :  "Ye  are  not 
my  people,  I  will  not  be  your  God.  I  have  cast  off  thy 
Calf,  oh  Samaria,  it  shall  be  broken  to  pieces.  My 
anger  is  kindled  against  you;  ye  sow  to  the  wind,  ye 
shall  reap  the  whirlwind.  Woe  unto  them,  they  have 
wandered  from  me.  Destruction  to  them,  they  have 
trespassed  against  me.'' 

So  his  quenchless  love  for  Gomer  showed  us  God's 
quenchless  love  for  us.  "She  decked  herself  with  her 
earrings  and  her  jewels,  she  went  after  her  lovers  and 
forgat  me,  saith  the  Lord.  But  I  will  allure  her.  I 
will  speak  comfortably  to  her.  I  will  give  her  vine- 
yards ;  and  she  shall  make  answer,  she  shall  sing  again 
as  in  the  days  of  her  youth.  How  can  I  give  thee  up, 
oh  my  beloved!  I  will  take  her  in  my  arms,  I  will 
draw  her  with  cords  of  love.  Ye  shall  be  my  people, 
I  will  be  your  God."  Then  he  made  his  final  appeal 
to  us.  "O  Israel,  return  unto  the  Lord  thy  God,  for 
thou  hast  fallen  by  thine  iniquity.  Say  no  more  to  the 
work  of  your  hands.  Ye  are  our  gods.  Come  back 
to  him  in  whom  the  fatherless  find  mercy,  he  will  heal 
your  back-sliding,  he  will  love  you  freely.  He  will  be 
as  the  dew  to  Israel ;  ye  shall  blossom  as  the  lily  and 
cast  forth  your  roots  as  Lebanon." 

The  effect  of  this  faithful  and  earnest  speech  of 
Hosea  was  very  disturbing  to  us.  We  had  all  con- 
demned Gomer  as  giving  free  rein  to  her  pleasure- 
loving  nature  and  as  being  untrue  to  her  faithful, 
loving,  constant  and  self-sacrificing  husband,  untrue 


AMOS,  HOSEA  6i 

to  the  noblest  ties  and  to  the  highest  obHgations.  While 
we  sympathized  with  Hosea  in  his  quenchless  love 
there  were  many  who  would  have  heartily  approved 
had  he  followed  Gomer  and  her  lovers  with  fierce 
vengeance.  Now  we  had  had  forcefully  applied  to  our 
own  case  that  we  were  like  Gomer  in  being  false  to 
the  righteous  and  loving  God,  and  of  giving  ourselves 
up  to  the  self-indulgence  of  pleasure  and  power.  We 
could  not  help  feeling  the  truth  of  the  charge  and  also 
fearing  that,  though  God  still  loved  us  and  appealed 
to  us,  we  were  so  enamored  of  our  worship  of  the 
Calf  of  Samaria  that  we  would  never  return  to  God. 
We  felt  that  as  Gomer' s  character  had  been  confirmed 
by  her  many  treacheries  and  as  she  was  now  so  in- 
volved in  the  condition  of  her  own  choice  that  she 
probably  would  never  return  to  Hosea,  so  in  the  same 
way  we  were  so  fully  confirmed  and  involved  in  our 
worship  of  the  bull  that  we  would  never  return  to  God. 
So  when  the  news  came  that  Jeroboam  had  captured 
Damascus  and  was  conquering  the  rich  lands  beyond 
the  northern  mountains,  though  the  speeches  of  both 
Amos  and  Hosea  filled  us  with  strange  forebodings 
of  evil,  we  speedily  and  easily  overcame  them  and  gave 
ourselves  up  to  popular  rejoicing.  We  have  chosen 
our  lot :  a  life  of  pleasure  and  wide  dominion,  and 
come  what  may  we  will  hold  by  our  choice. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE    STORY    OF    FOUR    ORATIONS    IN 

JERUSALEM,  BY  JOEL,  MICAH,  AND 

ISAIAH,  IN  THE  TIME  OF  ITS 

GREAT   PROSPERITY 

A  Letter  from  a  Prince  of  Judah  to  the 
Archon  of  Athens 

It  is  very  difficult  for  some  of  us  to  see  how  the 
golden  age  can  be  any  better  than  the  present  era.  It 
is  true  that  our  history  has  been  checkered :  part  of  it 
splendid  when  good  kings  have  ruled  and  the  city  has 
flourished,  part  of  it  shadowed  with  the  rule  of  evil 
kings  and  with  disaster  coming  even  to  our  walls.  But 
now  for  many  years  prosperity  has  been  fully  estab- 
lished. Our  northern  neighbor  has  prospered  greatly 
and  is  living  at  peace  with  us;  many  of  her  best  people 
visit  us  freely  and  attend  the  great  feasts  at  the 
Temple,  they  are  guests  of  friends  in  the  city  or  en- 
camp on  the  hills  just  outside  the  walls.  That  kingdom 
stands  between  us  and  the  growing  kingdoms  farther 
north  and  so  acts  as  our  guard  and  defense  from 
possible  danger. 

With  the  many  years  of  peaceful  development  great 
wealth  has  come  to  us.  While  the  city  itself  has 
grown  large  and  splendid,  a  city  of  palaces,  our  coun- 
try, under  the  thorough  cultivation  of  small  estates 

62 


JOEL,  MICAH,  ISAIAH  63 

has  become  very  fruitful,  a  country  of  many  bright 
villages  of  happy  homes. 

It  is  hard  to  understand  the  prophets :  some  of  them 
promise  a  golden  age,  some  of  them  threaten  speedy 
ruin,  and  often  the  same  prophet  in  the  same  speech 
v^ill  mingle  both  promises  and  threats.  Many  of  these 
prophets  find  it  difficult  to  gain  a  hearing  but  there 
was  one  a  few  years  ago  of  such  fine  eloquence  that 
crowds  hung  upon  his  words  and  there  are  two  now 
living  whom  the  people  are  always  eager  to  hear 
though  we  may  not  approve  or  even  fully  understand 
their  messages. 

The  speech  of  Joel  several  years  ago  was  made  to 
the  crowds  attending  the  temple-service  at  the  close 
of  the  evening  sacrifice.  It  was  one  of  the  great  feast- 
days  and  the  full  choir  of  a  couple  of  hundred  instru- 
ments and  at  least  two  thousand  voices  had  just  ren- 
dered one  of  the  noblest  temple  songs.  The  court 
upon  which  the  magnificent  Temple  stands  is  lifted 
a  few  feet  above  the  court  of  the  people.  Here  stands 
the  Great  Altar  where  the  priests  offer  the  morning 
and  evening  sacrifice  for  the  whole  nation.  The  choir 
of  the  Levites  which  assembled  from  all  parts  of  the 
land  on  the  feast-days  was  divided  into  two  sections 
facing  each  other  with  the  altar  and  the  ministering 
priests  between  them  while  in  front,  facing  both  altar 
and  temple  was  the  large  orchestra  of  trumpets,  horns 
and  flutes,  of  harps  and  drums.  On  such  days  the 
court  of  the  people  is  crowded,  ten  thousand  men  and 
women  filled  the  open  space  and  the  magnificent  cor- 
ridors surrounding  it. 

Well  might  our  city  be  proud  of  such  a  scene:  the 


64  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

splendid  Temple  of  Solomon  with  its  lofty  walls  of 
white  marble  and  its  roof  of  pure  gold  flashing  in  the 
rays  of  the  setting  sun,  the  open  spaces  filled  with  a 
multitude  of  worshippers,  the  corridors  of  magnificent 
marble  columns  and  golden  roofs  and  the  far-famed 
gates  into  the  courts  of  the  Temple  upon  which  Solo- 
mon had  lavished  the  wealth  and  genius  of  a  nation. 
Well  might  our  land  be  proud  of  our  worship  of  the 
Most  High  God ;  all  this  splendid  building,  the  wonder 
of  the  world,  all  the  throng  of  people  from  city  and 
country  had  but  one  purpose,  to  worship  God.  Surely 
our  God  must  be  pleased  with  such  devotion  to  him. 

The  song  the  choir  sang  that  evening  was  the  Song 
of  the  Redeemed*  :  a  few  strong  voices  with  the  trum- 
pets accompanying  them,  called  upon  all  to  praise  the 
Lord  for  his  goodness ;  then  followed  four  responsive 
songs,  one  part  of  the  choir  taking  the  first,  the  other 
division  taking  the  second.  Each  song  began  with  a 
few  plaintive  voices,  to  the  accompaniment  of  the 
flutes,  describing  men  in  distress :  then  a  great  appeal 
arose  from  many  strong  voices  to  God  for  help.  Then 
the  whole  division  of  the  choir  with  the  accompani- 
ment of  all  the  instruments  described  the  help  given 
by  God,  and  called  upon  all  to  praise  him  for  his 
goodness.  The  four  songs  sung  responsively  by  the 
two  sections  of  the  choir  awakened  an  overwhelming 
spirit  of  praise  and  now  the  whole  choir  joined  in  a 
great  chorus  of  song;  this  spirit  spread  irresistibly 
and  soon  the  whole  congregation  was  swept  into  the 
vast  chorus  of  praise  to  God  for  his  goodness,  ten 
thousand  voices  with  all  the  instruments  rendering  to 

*  Psalm,  107. 


JOEL,  MICAH,  ISAIAH  65 

God  the  heart's  adoration.  No  such  music,  we  fondly 
beheved,  could  be  heard  elsewhere  on  earth;  and  our 
souls  were  lifted  to  heavenly  heights  on  the  wings  of 
song.  This  evening,  too,  there  was  a  glorious  sunset, 
the  whole  heavens  were  aflame  with  crimson  and  gold 
foretelling  a  fair  tomorrow. 

As  the  last  note  of  the  music  died  away  in  silence 
Joel  stepped  forth  from  the  ranks  of  the  Levites  to 
the  platform  overlooking  the  court  of  the  people*  and 
began  the  great  oration  whose  thrilling  effect  charms 
and  ever  will  charm  our  minds  and  hearts,  though  we 
cannot  claim  that  we  fully  understood  it  all  or  even 
approved  that  which  we  did  understand. 

He  was  a  most  dramatic  orator.  He  seemed  to 
call  up  to  his  side  on  the  broad  platform  various 
classes  of  people  and  then  make  them  speak  to  us 
the  messages  he  desired  to  enforce  upon  us.  He 
called  up  the  old  men  to  describe  a  disaster  such  as 
had  not  before  been  seen  in  their  day;  he  called  upon 
the  young  revellers,  the  drinkers  of  wine,  to  describe 
hostile  armies  conquering  the  land ;  he  called  upon  the 
husbandmen  to  describe  a  country  of  vast  desolation; 
he  called  upon  the  priests  to  lament  in  sackcloth  that 
there  was  no  offering  for  the  house  of  God;  he  called 
upon  the  representatives  of  all  the  people  to  sanctify 
a  fast,  to  call  a  solemn  assembly  and  cry  unto  the 
Lord.  "Alas  for  the  day,  for  the  day  of  the  Lord  is 
at  hand,  and  as  destruction  from  the  Almighty  shall 
it  come." 

Then  he,  in  his  own  person,  poured  out  upon  our 
terrified  souls  his  vision  of  the  approaching  destruc- 

*  Joel,  the  whole  book. 


66  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

tion.  Our  fathers  had  described  to  us  what  their 
fathers  had  told  them  had  occurred  in  their  day,  and 
we  thought  with  the  exaggeration  incident  to  old-age 
describing  a  far-gone  past,  it  was  a  terrible  scourge 
of  locusts  that  had  darkened  the  sky  as  the  night  and 
completely  devoured  the  land.  Joel  recalled  this  story 
of  the  locusts  and  in  his  vivid  way  depicted  the  coming 
of  a  great  nation  from  the  north  whose  vast  armies 
should  in  orderly  array  and  in  irresistible  strength 
spread  over  the  land:  ''they  march  every  one  on  his 
way  and  they  break  not  their  ranks,  they  leap  upon  the 
city,  they  run  upon  the  wall,  they  climb  up  into  the 
houses,  they  enter  in  at  the  windows  like  a  thief,  the 
earth  quaketh  before  them,  the  heavens  tremble,  the 
sun  and  moon  are  darkened,  the  land  is  as  the  Garden 
of  Eden  before  them  and  behind  them  a  desolate 
wilderness,  yea,  and  none  hath  escaped  them,  a  fire 
devoureth  before  them  and  behind  them  a  flame  burn- 
eth."  The  destruction  by  the  locusts,  exaggerated  as 
it  might  be,  was  but  a  faint  forecast  of  the  complete 
and  terrible  destruction  by  the  northern  armies. 

Joel  now  called  upon  us,  as  we  rent  our  clothes  and 
cried  out  in  protests,  "to  rend  our  hearts  and  not  our 
garments  and  to  turn  to  the  Lord  our  God."  Then 
followed  the  most  glowing  description  of  the  way  God, 
if  we  turned  unto  him,  would  check  and  turn  back 
the  destroying  armies  and  would  greatly  bless  our 
land;  and  the  glowing  description  of  the  blessing  was 
almost  as  bewildering  in  its  brightness  as  the  threatened 
destruction  had  been  terrible.  But  through  it  all  there 
was  a  strange  commingling  of  the  darkness  and  the 
brightness,  as  if  there  was  a  grave  doubt  in  his  mind 


JOEL,  MICAH,  ISAIAH  67 

as  to  whether  we  would  turn  to  God  and  be  blessed 
by  him  or  would  be  overtaken  with  the  incursion  of 
the  locusts,  with  the  vast  hordes  of  an  irresistible  and 
terrible  foe. 

This  oration  closed  with  a  vivid  description  of  the 
Lord  calling  upon  all  the  nations :  ^' Haste  ye  and  come 
all  ye  nations  round  about  and  gather  in  the  Valley 
of  Decision,  for  there  will  I  sit  to  judge  all  the  nations, 
multitudes,  multitudes  in  the  Valley  of  Decision,  for 
the  day  of  the  Lord  is  near."  Our  souls  were  filled 
with  awe  as  he  placed  before  us  the  great  day  of  God 
judging  all  the  nations.  Joel  declared  that  the  wicked- 
ness of  the  nations  was  great  and  their  judgment 
would  be  severe  and  he  foretold  that  a  holy  nation 
would  arise  of  those  who  found  their  refuge  in  God. 

He  had  not  denounced  against  us  any  great  or 
special  wickedness  but  he  had  implied  that  our  worship 
was  heartless  and  false  and  had  exhorted  us  to  turn 
to  God.  How  had  we  ever  turned  away  from  him, 
were  we  not  his  worshippers  ?  Was  not  this  splendid 
Temple  and  this  vast  assembly  even  now  engaged  in 
the  evening  sacrifice?  Was  not  this  great  swelling 
song  of  praise  all  in  the  honor  of  God  ?  What  was  the 
meaning  of  the  "rending  of  the  heart,"  of  the  ''turning 
to  God,"  what  the  threatened  disaster,  what  the  glow- 
ing promise?  We  felt  a  vague  unrest,  as  if  we  were 
not  altogether  right  in  God's  sight,  as  if  something 
were  wanting  in  our  worship,  something  defective  in 
our  great  prosperity.  Joel  had  brought  before  us  in 
his  graphic  way  the  all-powerful  and  the  all-seeing 
God  and  that  God  was  looking  upon  us  and  judging 
us.     The  impression  made  by  the  eloquence  of  Joel 


68  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

was  disturbing  to  our  conscience;  it  disturbed  our 
good  opinion  of  ourselves. 

But  the  morrow,  as  the  sunset  had  promised,  was 
fair;  the  Temple  was  splendid  and  the  worship  mag- 
nificent. The  city  was  rich,  the  nation  prosperous 
and  our  great  King  ruled  with  kindness  and  firmness. 
Our  equanimity  returned  as  prosperous  days  continued, 
though  our  memories  frequently  recalled  Joel's  vivid 
visions  of  coming  destruction,  his  earnest  calls  to 
turn  unto  God  and  his  graphic  description  of  God's 
judgment  of  all  nations.  We  could  not  forget  it  if 
we  would. 

The  two  prophets  now  living  whom  the  people  are 
always  eager  to  hear  differ  from  each  other  in  many 
striking  ways,  one  is  far  superior  to  the  other  in 
eloquence,  he  is  as  far  as  we  know  the  finest  orator 
of  all  the  nations;  and  both  differ  from  Joel  who 
passed  from  us  a  few  years  ago.  Joel  was  a  member 
of  a  highly  educated  class,  the  Levites,  the  teachers  of 
the  nation;  he  was  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  great 
choir;  he  was  a  noted  and  cultured  citizen  of  the 
capital  city. 

MiCAH  was  a  countryman,  the  owner  of  one  of  the 
small  estates  some  twenty  miles  southwest  of  Jeru- 
salem toward  the  Great  Sea,  a  prosperous  farmer.  It 
was  the  policy  of  our  nation  to  maintain  these  small 
estates  and  to  have  them  descend  in  the  same  family 
from  generation  to  generation.  Much  of  our  great 
prosperity  depended  upon  the  attachment  of  families 
to  their  homesteads,  upon  the  thorough  cultivation  of 
these  small  estates,  and  so  upon  the  independence, 
contentment,  virtue  and  happiness  of  our  people.    But 


JOEL,  MICAH,  ISAIAH  69 

there  was  a  tendency  when  great  wealth  accumulated 
in  our  capital  city,  for  the  rich  families  to  desire 
country  homes;  these  often  were  not  contented  with 
small  estates,  they  must  have  parks  of  many  broad 
acres  and  must  dwell  in  large  mansions. 

Micah  lived  upon  the  sloping  hills  flowing  down  to 
the  fertile  plains  along  the  Great  Sea,  a  most  attractive 
region  of  great  abundance  and  splendid  outlooks  upon 
land  and  sea.  He  witnessed  the  gradual  absorption  of 
many  small  estates  by  the  wealthy  citizens  of  Jeru- 
salem for  their  country  homes.  He  saw  the  dire 
results  that  must  follow,  depriving  many  families  of 
the  means  of  gaining  a  modest  living  from  the  soil 
and  withdrawing  much  land  from  profitable  cultivation 
to  become  the  pleasure  grounds  of  the  rich  and  thus 
defeating  the  policy  of  the  laws  inherited  from  Moses 
the  great  law-giver. 

Micah  also  witnessed  another  evil  tendency  of  our 
prosperous  times.  It  was  the  policy  of  our  nation, 
inherited  also  from  the  laws  of  Moses,  to  live  in 
righteous  dealings  with  our  neighboring  nations  but 
not  to  rival  them  in  luxurious  living  nor  enter  into 
political  alliances  with  them.  Micah  lived  upon  the 
brow  of  the  hill  overlooking  the  only  great  highway 
between  the  empires  of  the  north  and  east  and  the 
great  empire  of  Egypt  along  the  Nile;  he  saw  the 
great  caravans  of  the  traders  and  the  pomp  and  cir- 
cumstance of  princely  wealth  and  of  the  political  em- 
bassies passing  to  and  fro  over  this  highway  of  the 
nations  along  the  plain  by  the  sea.  He  also  saw  and 
with  growing  dislike,  that  Jerusalem  in  her  wealth  and 
pride  was  sending  down  to  Egypt  her  traders,  her 


70  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

wealthy  travelers  and  also  her  political  embassies ;  and 
was  receiving  back  from  Egypt,  not  only  corrupting 
manners  of  luxurious  living  but  hopes  of  political 
alliances. 

So  his  heart  burned  with  indignation  and  he  felt 
called  of  God  to  go  to  Jerusalem  and  rebuke  these 
two  evil  tendencies  of  the  times.  When  he  came  to 
the  city  and  dwelt  there  long  enough  to  observe  many 
other  tendencies  of  our  great  prosperity  the  flame  of 
his  indignation  burned  into  a  red  hot  passion  that 
took  full  possession  of  his  being. 

His  great  oration*  was  spoken  in  the  temple-courts 
at  the  close  of  the  morning  sacrifice,  it  was  not  a 
feast  day  and  only  the  ordinary  daily  choir  had 
rendered  the  morning  hymn  of  praise,  the  attendance 
was  mainly  of  our  own  citizens,  numbering  perhaps 
some  three  or  four  thousand,  and  was  about  to  dis- 
perse in  silence  when  Micah  stepped  upon  the  plat- 
form and  shouted  *'Hear  ye  people  the  word  of  the 
Lord."  He  was  of  commanding  form,  his  voice  of 
great  depth  and  power,  he  spoke  deliberately  but  evi- 
dently with  restrained  passion,  which  while  always 
controlled  grew  more  intense,  his  choice  of  language 
was  fine,  his  figures  of  speech  were  striking  and  at 
times  he  became  vividly  dramatic. 

He  began  by  describing  the  Lord  coming  in  great 
majesty  to  visit  judgment  vipon  the  northern  nation  of 
Israel,  and  then  upon  Judah  for  our  nation  had  been 
corrupted  by  her  neighbors  to  the  north  and  to  the 
south.  He  then  in  the  plainest  and  most  graphic 
language  described  our  transgressions,  none  of  us  could 

*  Micah,  the  whole  book. 


JOEL,  MICAH,  ISAIAH  71 

misunderstand  what  the  Lord  had  against  us  and  the 
more  prosperous  among  us,  those  generally  regarded 
as  specially  favored,  were  most  severely  denounced 
as  leaders  in  transgression.  Our  sins  were  not  spe- 
cially of  worship,  as  Joel  had  intimated,  but  of  injur- 
ing our  weaker  and  less  prosperous  brothers.  **Woe 
to  them  that  devise  iniquity  and  practice  it  because 
it  is  in  the  power  of  their  hand.  They  covet  fields 
and  seize  them,  and  houses  and  take  them  away ;  they 
oppress  a  man  and  his  heritage;  they  cast  out  the 
women  of  my  people  from  their  pleasant  houses,  from 
their  young  children  they  take  away  my  glory." 

Not  only  in  the  country  but  in  the  capital  city  the 
strong  in  their  prosperity  crush  and  trample  upon  their 
weaker  brethren.  "The  treasures  of  wickedness  are 
in  the  house  of  the  wicked,  the  abominable  scant 
measure,  the  wicked  balances,  the  bag  of  deceitful 
weights.  Your  rich  men  are  full  of  violence,  they  have 
spoken  lies,  their  tongue  is  deceitful  in  their  mouth." 

He  then  in  the  severest  terms  denounced  the  princes 
and  leaders  of  the  people  for  their  bribery  and  self- 
seeking;  men's  faces  flushed  with  shame  and  indigna- 
tion as  each  looked  upon  the  other  as  sharing  in  or 
approving  such  sins.  *'Ye  heads,  ye  rulers,  is  it  not 
for  you  to  know  judgment :  but  ye  hate  the  good  and 
love  the  evil,  ye  pluck  off  the  skin  of  my  people  and 
eat  their  flesh,  ye  abhor  judgment,  ye  pervert  all 
equity;  ye  judges  judge  for  reward,  ye  priests  teach 
for  hire,  ye  prophets  divine  for  money,  and  yet  ye  say 
the  Lord  is  with  us."  Then  came  the  terrible  threaten- 
ings  of  coming  destruction.  ''Therefore  shall  Zion, 
for  your  sake,  be  plowed  as  a  field  and  Jerusalem  shall 


^2  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

become  heaps,  and  the  mountain  of  the  house  as  the 
high  places  of  a  forest." 

One  of  the  most  dramatic  passages  of  his  great 
oration  was  his  description  of  the  trial  of  all  the  nation 
before  the  mountains  as  judges.  God  summoned  the 
people,  he  charged  them  with  disloyalty  to  him,  he 
called  witnesses  to  show  his  faithfulness  in  all  his 
dealings;  the  people  were  silent,  they  could  make  no 
answer.  And  then  the  mountains  pronounced  their 
judgment :  "The  Lord  is  not  pleased  with  your  temple- 
worship;  ye  know  what  is  good,  what  he  requires  of 
you,  do  justly,  love  mercy,  walk  humbly  with  your 
God."  Micah  also  described  a  coming  time  of  great 
prosperity  when  all  the  people  should  do  justly,  love 
mercy,  and  walk  humbly  with  God.  This  coming  time 
would  be  under  the  reign  of  one  born  in  the  small 
town  of  Bethlehem,  rising  from  the  common  people 
and  his  life  linked  with  theirs  from  the  far  past;  this 
King  should  be  great  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  and 
should  bring  peace  to  all  the  people. 

Micah  has  made  several  such  speeches  to  the  temple- 
worshippers.  There  is  a  strange  fascination  about 
him.  Whenever  it  is  thought  he  will  speak  unusual 
throngs  gather  to  hear  him.  Part  of  the  attraction  is 
that  he  is  from  the  country  and  from  the  poor  people 
while  most  of  those  attending  the  temple-worship  are 
from  the  city  and  from  the  rich  and  noble  classes.  He 
criticises  and  denounces  us  but  he  is  so  plain  spoken 
and  earnest,  so  evidently  sincere  in  believing  that  the 
Lord  has  sent  him,  so  brave  and  faithful  to  his  charge 
that  he  wins  our  respect;  then  too,  we  feel  in  our 
consciences  that  he  is  more  than  half  right  and  that  we 


JOEL,  MICAH,  ISAIAH  73 

should  have  more  respect  for  the  rights  of  our  lowly 
brethren  and  more  humility  toward  God. 

The  other  orator  now  living  whom  the  people  are 
always  eager  to  hear  is  Isaiah.  He  is  an  elegant  and 
polished  speaker  but  all  his  elegance  only  enforces  the 
plain,  clear  message  he  brings  to  the  crowds  who  hear 
him.  He  is  a  Prince  of  the  royal  family,  a  nephew 
to  the  reigning  King ;  he  lives  in  a  palace  almost  equal 
in  splendor  to  the  palace  David  built,  and  when  he 
comes  to  the  Temple  it  is  often  in  company  with  the 
King  and  the  princes  and  officers  of  his  court. 

The  Palace  of  Solomon  crowns  a  neighboring  hill 
to  the  Mount  of  the  Temple,  across  the  narrow  valley 
between  these  hills  there  springs  the  splendid  ascent 
by  which  the  King  goes  up  into  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
the  ascent  which  impressed  the  Queen  of  Sheba  on 
her  visit  to  Solomon,  as  one  of  the  wonders  of  Jeru- 
salem. This  high  path-way  enters  the  portico  of  the 
Temple  where  the  pillars  are  of  the  finest  marble,  their 
capitals  of  purest  gold,  which  are  called  the  Pillars 
of  the  King,  by  these  the  King  and  his  court  stand 
during  the  morning  and  the  evening  sacrifice.  The 
platform  upon  which  this  glittering  company  stand  is 
a  few  steps  above  the  Court  of  the  People  and  a  single 
step  below  the  Court  of  the  Priests  and  open  to  the 
gaze  of  all  assembled  at  the  temple-worship.  It  is 
from  this  platform  that  Isaiah  speaks.  He  speaks  to 
the  King  and  his  court,  to  the  priests  and  the  choir 
of  the  Levites,  and  to  the  people  of  city  and  country 
who  assemble  for  worship.  Whenever  the  rumor 
spreads  through  the  city  that  Isaiah  is  to  speak  throngs 
crowd  to  hear  him,  the  Porch  of  the  King,  the  Court 


74  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

of  the  Priests  and  the  Court  of  the  People  are  all 
filled  with  eager  listeners,  a  splendid  audience  to  in- 
spire to  noblest  eloquence  the  greatest  orator  our  nation 
has  ever  known. 

He  is  now*  in  the  full  maturity  of  his  powers.  It  is 
perhaps  twenty  years  ago  that  he  described  to  us  his 
call  of  God  to  give  his  message  to  the  people,  the  awe- 
inspiring  vision  he  had  of  God  in  his  great  Hohness 
with  the  seraphim  covering  their  faces  and  their  feet 
with  their  wings,  and  yet  ready  to  fly  to  do  his  bidding.f 
We  remember,  who  can  ever  forget,  his  youthful 
enthusiasm  as  he  described  to  us  the  Golden  Age  God 
was  ready  to  bring  to  his  people  which  was  delayed 
in  its  glorious  coming  only  by  their  unworthiness, 
and  how  he  urged  us  ''O  house  of  Jacob  come  ye  and 
let  us  walk  in  the  light  of  the  Lord."  We  are  still 
thrilled  as  we  recall  his  youthful  energy  as  he  de- 
nounced the  luxury  and  profligacy  of  his  times;  his 
vivid  description  of  the  haughty  princesses,  the  daugh- 
ters of  Zion  * 'walking  with  stretched  forth  necks  and 
wanton  eyes,  mincing  as  they  go  and  making  a  tinkling 
with  their  feet,"  so  our  nation  was  satisfied  with  its 
wealth  and  wanton  in  its  pride;  and  how  the  Lord 
would  strip  off  all  this  bravery,  "the  rings  and  jewels, 
the  festival  robes  and  turbans,  and  give  a  rope  for  a 
girdle  and  sackcloth  for  a  stomacher,"  how  he  would 
give  to  the  proud  and  wanton  nation  "branding  in- 
stead of  beauty." 

Not  only  does  Isaiah  speak  to  the  temple-worship- 
pers, he  has  two  other  and  widely  different  audiences. 

*  Isaiah,  6th  chapter. 
t  Isaiah,  2-4  chapters. 


JOEL,  MICAH,  ISAIAH  75 

He  has  always  free  access  to  the  King  and  his  court 
and  often  brings  a  special  message  from  God  to  them, 
especially  to  the  King  exhorting  him  in  all  the  affairs 
of  state  to  have  faith  in  God,  in  his  presence  and  care, 
and  to  give  to  him  loyalty  and  strict  obedience.  He 
also  frequently  addresses  the  populace  in  the  streets 
and  open  places  in  the  city,  for  there  are  many  who 
never  attend  the  temple-worship,  who  are  so  irreligious 
that  they  never  even  go  through  the  forms  of  religion. 
It  is  very  difficult  to  get  a  hearing  from  this  large  class 
of  people  for  any  religious  message,  and  Isaiah  has 
adopted  some  remarkable  devices  to  bring  to  their 
attention  the  message  God  sends  through  him.  To 
draw  a  crowd  to  hear  him  he  has  at  times  raised  a 
broad  tablet  by  his  side,  upon  the  black  surface  he 
writes  a  startling  word  in  bold  white  letters,  then  when 
crowds  come  to  see,  he  speaks  upon  this  word  and  after 
that,  holds  them  spell-bound  by  his  eloquence.  So  at 
other  times  he  lifts  his  young  son  upon  his  shoulder 
and  speaks  about  him ;  or  he  sings  a  song  in  his  high, 
clear  voice  until  the  crowd  gathers;  or  he  takes  off 
his  coat  and  his  sandals  and  thus  draws  a  crowd.  All 
these  methods  effectively  served  his  purpose. 

During  the  past  few  weeks  Isaiah  has  made  two 
great  speeches  which  have  produced  a  vast  impression 
upon  the  city :  one  he  made  in  the  street  to  the  irreli- 
gious crowd,  the  other  he  made  to  the  worshippers 
in  the  Temple. 

Within  the  past  twenty  years  a  great  change  has 
come  upon  our  northern  nation,  our  brother-kingdom, 
Israel.  That  kingdom  has  at  times  been  at  war  with 
us  but  generally  has  stood  between  us  and  the  powerful 


76  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

heathen  kingdoms  further  north.  After  the  death  of 
their  great  King  Jeroboam  II,  a  number  of  weak 
kings  have  ruled ;  one  of  them  in  alHance  with  Damas- 
cus fought  against  us,  but  was  easily  driven  back. 
But  in  recent  years  a  greater  kingdom  has  arisen  north 
and  east  of  Damascus  and  has  shown  its  vast  power 
both  upon  Syria  and  Israel.  A  former  king  of  As- 
syria, Pul,  had  in  a  short  war  taken  much  gold,  silver 
and  jewels  and  carried  them  back  to  his  capital 
Nineveh,  making  it  a  treasure-house  of  the  spoils  of 
nations.  The  present  king,  Tiglath-pileser,  is  a  man 
of  new  ideas,  and  carries  on  his  conquests  in  a  far 
more  terrible  way,  he  takes  possession  of  the  lands  he 
conquers  and  holds  them  as  a  part  of  his  ever-enlarging 
kingdom ;  and  to  hold  them  firmly  he  carries  away  the 
best  of  their  people  as  captives  to  other  portions  of 
his  kingdom,  and  replaces  them  with  colonists  of  his 
own  people.  Within  the  past  few  weeks  rumors  have 
come  to  us  that  this  great  king  has  thus  captured  all 
the  northern  portion  of  Israel;  and  while  peace  has 
been  made,  it  gives  promise  only  of  a  short  duration, 
and  then  Assyria  may  sweep  down  and  take  possession 
of  our  sister-capital,  Samaria,  may  sweep  down  even 
to  our  own  borders.  All  is  prosperous  with  us,  Jeru- 
salem flourishes,  our  nation  is  at  peace  with  all  other 
nations,  but  there  is  this  threatening  shadow  from  the 
north  that  darkens  Israel  and  may  advance  even  to 
Judah. 

We  expected  that  Isaiah  would  speak  upon  this 
great  news,  that  he  would  give  the  people  his  states- 
man's view  of  it,  that  he  would  specially  proclaim  to 
us  the  message  of  our  God  concerning  it;  but  we 


JOEL,  MICAH,  ISAIAH  'jy 

supposed  of  course  that  his  speech  would  be  to  the 
leading  people,  the  religious  people  worshipping  in  the 
Temple. 

But  his  first  speech  was  to  the  irreligious  populace.* 
The  most  crowded  part  of  the  city  is  where  the  street 
of  the  tent-makers  opens  into  the  bazaar  of  the  silk 
and  rug  merchants,  just  beyond  this  is  the  street  where 
the  caravans  from  the  East  enter  the  city,  and  on  the 
other  side  of  the  bazaar  stretches  the  street  where  the 
poorest  dwellers  in  the  city  find  their  rude  homes.  It 
was  at  the  corner  of  these  streets  and  the  bazaar  that, 
in  the  cool  of  the  morning,  Isaiah  took  his  stand  on  a 
small  platform  and  began  to  sing,  in  his  far-carrying 
and  musical  voice,  his  Song  of  the  Vineyard.  Soon 
a  great  crowd  gathered  about  him  and  he  spoke  to  them 
concerning  God's  vineyard,  the  inhabitants  of  Jeru- 
salem, the  men  of  Judah.  He  had  cared  for  and 
blessed  them;  ''and  when  he  looked  for  grapes  behold 
his  vineyard  brought  forth  only  wild  grapes ;  he  looked 
for  judgment  but  beheld  oppression;  for  righteous- 
ness, but  heard  only  the  cry  of  the  wronged."  In 
plain  but  stinging  words  he  showed  the  people  their 
sins  and  pronounced  woes  upon  them ;  "how  the  pros- 
perous joined  house  to  house  ignoring  the  rights  of 
their  brethren;  how  the  revellers  inflamed  themselves 
with  wine  and  forgot  their  God ;  how  the  wicked  sinned 
as  with  a  cart-rope,  how  they  called  evil  good  and  good 
evil,  how  they  justified  the  wicked  for  a  reward,  how 
they  took  away  the  righteousness  of  the  righteous  by 
oppression."  Then  Isaiah,  in  his  righteous  indignation, 
declared  that  the  Lord  would  lay  waste  his  vineyard, 

*  Isaiah,  5th  chapter. 


78  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

that  his  anger  was  kindled  against  his  people.  "He 
will  lift  up  an  ensign  to  the  nation  from  afar  and  will 
hiss  for  him  from  the  ends  of  the  earth.  They  shall 
come  with  speed  swiftly,  none  shall  be  weary  nor 
stumble,  their  arrows  are  sharp  and  all  their  bows  bent, 
their  horses'  hoofs  are  as  flint  and  their  wheels  like  a 
whirlwind,  they  shall  roar  like  a  lion  and  lay  hold  of 
their  prey  and  carry  it  away  safely,  and  there  shall  be 
none  to  deliver." 

The  effect  was  tremendous.  Men  tore  their  hair 
and  rent  their  garments;  they  lifted  loud  voices  in 
lamentation  and  fear;  they  fled  through  streets  and 
bazaars  to  their  homes  and  hid  themselves ;  they  seemed 
to  see  the  enemy  swarming  over  the  walls  of  the  city; 
they  cried  out  as  if  the  lion  had  laid  hold  of  its  prey. 
It  soon  spread  through  the  whole  city,  this  terrible 
threatening  of  the  wrath  of  God  by  Isaiah.  Fear  took 
possession  of  all,  an  awful  dread  of  coming  disaster. 
The  eloquence  of  Isaiah  struck  home  to  the  heart  of 
the  people  since  their  consciences  condemned  them 
for  the  sins  he  denounced. 

A  few  days  after  this  it  was  rumored  through  the 
city  that  Isaiah  would  speak  in  the  Temple  at  the 
close  of  the  evening  sacrifice.  It  was  not  a  feast  day, 
only  the  ordinary  choir  of  three  hundred  voices  and 
forty  instruments  was  in  attendance  and  only  a  few 
priests  were  needed  to  offer  the  daily  sacrifice,  but  in 
order  to  hear  Isaiah  the  high-priest  and  his  attendants 
and  all  the  Levites  in  the  city,  the  teachers,  the  judges 
and  the  lawmakers  of  the  people  crowded  the  Court 
of  the  Levites.  The  Court  of  the  People  was  also 
crowded  and  especially  the  Porch  of  the  King's  pillars 


JOEL,  MICAH,  ISAIAH  79 

where  stood  the  King  and  the  princes  in  attendance 
upon  him.  The  choir  had  just  ended  the  evening  song 
of  praise  and  the  high-priest  had  just  spread  forth  his 
hands  and  pronounced  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the 
people,  when  Isaiah  came  forth  from  the  princes  at- 
tending the  King  and  began  his  address.  His  clear 
ringing  voice  could  be  heard  easily  in  the  still  evening 
air  by  those  farthest  removed  from  him,  his  eyes  flashed 
their  meaning  upon  princes,  Levites  and  people  as  he 
turned  from  one  to  another ;  his  form,  as  he  stood  still 
or  moved  about  upon  the  platform,  and  all  his  gestures 
were  instinct  with  feeling;  the  whole  man  spoke  and 
swayed  us  at  his  will. 

His  great  speech  had  the  wide  sweep  of  a  states- 
man's vision ;  we  saw,  as  he  made  us  see  them,  nations 
rise  and  fall ;  it  had  also  the  keen  insight  of  a  prophet 
of  God  watching  his  unfolding  plans ;  and  he  made  us 
see  that  in  God's  plans  righteousness  would  be  tri- 
umphant while  wickedness  wherever  found  could  bring 
only  disaster. 

He  began  by  describing  the  land  of  Zebulun*  and 
the  land  of  Naphtali,  the  portions  of  our  brother- 
kingdom  of  Israel  which  had  just  been  captured  by 
Assyria,  beautiful  and  fruitful  lands  at  the  feet  of 
the  great  mountains  and  now  those  lands  were  swal- 
lowed up  by  a  triumphant  heathen  nation.  Then  he 
described  that  there  would  arise  a  great  light  upon 
those  lands  dispelling  all  the  present  darkness.  This 
Hght  he  described  in  the  most  bewildering  way  as 
coming  from  a  child,  a  son  of  our  people,  chosen  of 
God;  he  gave  him  names  which  were  far  beyond  our 

♦Isaiah,  gth,  loth,  nth,  and  12th  chapters. 


8o  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

powers  even  to  imagine:  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  the 
Mighty  God,  the  Everlasting  Father,  the  Prince  of 
Peace;  he  assured  us  that  of  the  increase  of  his  gov- 
ernment and  peace  there  should  be  no  end  for  it 
would  be  established  through  judgment  and  righteous- 
ness even  forever ;  "the  zeal  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  v/ill 
perform  this." 

Now  by  a  swift  transition  he  brought  us  back  from 
this  splendid  vision  of  the  far  future  to  the  present 
condition :  and  this  not  only  of  Israel  but  of  our  own 
nation  and  of  Jerusalem  itself.     This  condition  was 
the  reverse  of  righteousness,  and  wickedness  would 
surely  bring  disaster.    In  four  stinging  indictments  he 
associated  us  with  our  northern  brethren,  they  were 
already  feeling  the  rod  of  God's  wrath,  we  would  soon 
feel  it  also.     *Tride  and  stoutness  of  heart,  rejecting 
God's  righteous  law,  bring  the  enemies  that  devour 
with  open  mouth."     Impenitence,  profane  and  evil 
doings  and  folly  awaken  God's  anger:  "Wickedness 
and  cruel,  selfish  oppression  of  one's  brother  bring  of 
their  own  nature,  punishment  and  disaster."    The  last 
indictment  was  specially  severe :  "Woe  unto  them  that 
decree  unrighteous  decrees,  that  write  perverse  things, 
that  turn  aside  the  needy  from  judgment,  that  take 
away  the  right  of  the  poor,  that  make  widows  their 
spoil  and  the  fatherless  their  prey,  they  shall  bow- 
down  under  the  prisoners  and  shall   fall  under  the 
slain."     He  turned  in  righteous  indignation  to  the 
Levites,  to  the  princes,  to  the  people,  and  as  each 
indictment  closed  with  its  appropriate  punishment  he 
spoke  a  ringing  refrain,  as  if  he  knew  all  were  in 
vain,  that  the  wickedness  was  persistent :  "For  all  this 


JOEL,  MICAH,  ISAIAH  8i 

his  anger  is  not  turned  away,  but  his  hand  is  stretched 
out  still." 

He  now  represented  God  as  calling  for  the  Assyrian, 
the  nation  already  triumphing  over  our  brethren,  to  be 
the  rod  of  his  anger,  the  staff  of  his  indignation  against 
our  profane  nation.  God  gave  him  the  charge  "to  take 
the  spoil,  to  carry  away  the  prey,  to  tread  us  down 
like  the  mire  in  the  streets."  Then  he  described  how 
the  Assyrian  in  his  pride  and  cruel  strength  would 
sweep  over  the  land;  he  made  us  see  as  he  saw  in  his 
rapt  vision,  "he  is  come,  he  is  passed  through,  he 
layeth  aside  his  baggage,  he  has  gone  over  the  pass, 
he  taketh  his  lodging,  the  people  gather  only  to  flee, 
he  halts,  he  is  here,  he  shaketh  his  hand  at  the  hill 
of  Jerusalem." 

Then  when  our  hearts  were  filled  with  fear  and 
horror  Isaiah's  whole  manner  changed,  he  seemed  to 
have  a  glorious  vision  of  a  great  rescue;  there  was  a 
swift  transition  of  thought  and  feeling  as  he  told  us 
again  of  a  child  to  be  born,  a  shoot  from  the  stock  and 
a  branch  out  of  the  roots  of  Jesse:  and  he  described 
the  reign  of  this  far-coming  King,  "his  delight  shall 
be  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  he  shall  defend  the  poor  and 
the  weak  with  equity,  and  with  the  breath  of  his  lips 
he  will  slay  the  wicked,  righteousness  and  faithfulness 
shall  be  his  clothing."  There  will  follow  peace  and 
prosperity  beyond  the  dreams  of  the  earth,  for  his 
shall  be  the  reign  of  the  righteous  King  and  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  shall  praise  him. 

The  evening  shadows  were  gathering  fast  over  the 
city  as  we  went  down  from  the  Temple  to  our  homes, 
many  were  the  heart-searchings  and  the  head-shakings 


82  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

as  we  conversed  with  one  another  on  the  way.  Was 
our  unrighteousness  as  bad  as  Isaiah  charged?  Had 
we  not  been  this  very  evening  giving  our  God  the 
most  splendid  worship  in  the  most  splendid  Temple? 
Were  not  the  riches  of  the  city,  the  prosperous  coun- 
try, the  peaceful  nation,  the  indications  of  God's  great 
favor  to  us?  The  great  nation  of  the  north  had  indeed 
treated  our  brother-nation  with  severity,  doubtless  they 
deserved  it,  but  he  was  surely  a  great  way  off  from  us. 
There  might  indeed  come  a  time  in  the  far  future 
when  a  child,  through  righteousness,  would  exert  a 
wide  and  peaceful  sway,  Isaiah's  vision  was  beautiful, 
even  glorious;  it  might  some  day  in  the  far  future 
come  to  pass ;  but  for  us  the  present  was  good  enough. 
We  were  not  very  bad ;  how  could  we  always  be  think- 
ing of  the  rights  of  others,  of  the  poor  and  the  weak? 
Must  we  not  look  out  for  ourselves?  Each  for  him- 
self in  the  affairs  of  life;  and  if  we  maintained  the 
Temple  and  its  worship  surely  God  would  be  pleased 
with  us. 

Besides  we  have  Isaiah,  the  statesman,  the  prophet, 
the  splendid  orator  still  with  us  and  in  the  prime  of 
life;  should  there  come  need  he  will  often,  as  in  the 
past,  give  us  the  benefit  of  his  counsels  and  his  visions. 

SUPPLEMENT  TO  CHAPTER  V 

The  Book  of  Isaiah 

Arrangement  in  the  hook  of  the  speeches  of  Isaiah 

Part  L  Isaiah  a  young  man.  Uzziah  and  Jotham 
the  kings.  About  740  B.  C.  Judah  has 
had  disasters  in  the  past,  now  is  pros- 
perous but  corrupt. 


JOEL,  MICAH,  ISAIAH  83 

Chapter  i.  Temple  Speech:  passionate  rush  of 
feeling  describing  corruption  and  past  disaster  with  a 
call  to  present  reformation  and  a  glowing  promise  of 
forgiveness. 

Chapters  2,  3,  4.  Temple  Speech:  the  Golden  Age 
Speech :  glowing  description  of  walking  in  God's  ways, 
stern  denunciation  of  their  evil  ways,  even  the  women 
are  corrupt,  assurance  that  a  righteous  life  will  bring 
prosperity  from  God.  The  lure  of  the  Golden  Age 
both  at  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the  speech. 

Chapter  5.  Street  Speech:  singing  draws  a  crowd, 
a  parable  of  a  vineyard.  It  brings  forth  wild  grapes, 
six  woes  pronounced  upon  the  wild  grapes.  God  calls 
an  army  from  the  north  to  sweep  over  the  vineyard. 

Chapter  6.  Isaiah  describes  his  call  to  be  a  prophet 
and  it  confirming  him  amid  discouragement.  Isaiah's 
favorite  title  of  God  "The  Holy  One  of  Israel,"  al- 
most peculiar  to  him,  evidently  arises  from  this  call. 

Part  II.  Isaiah  in  his  prime,  in  middle  age.  Ahaz 
and  Hezekiah  the  kings,  about  722  B.  C. 
Judah  is  invaded  by  Israel  and  Syria,  and 
again  is  freed.  Israel  is  invaded  by 
Assyria  and  at  length  Samaria  falls  and 
Israel  is  taken  captive.  The  northern 
kingdom  is  destroyed,  becomes  a  part  of 
Assyria. 

Chapter  7.  Speech  in  the  presence  of  King  Ahaz 
and  his  court :  exhorts  him  to  take  the  shield  of  faith 
and  be  calm,  promises  the  speedy  driving  back  of 
Syria. 

Chapter  8.  Street  Speech:  uses  the  black-board 
with  words  on  it  meaning  "speed,  spoil,  hurry,  pray" 
to  draw,  startle  and  impress  the  crowd;  tells  them 
that  while  freed  from  present  danger  Assyria  will 
soon  sweep  over  Israel  and  come  down  near  to 
Jerusalem 


84  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

Chapters  9,  10,  11,  12.  Temple  Speech,  the  Naph- 
tali  Speech  described  in  the  letter. 

Chapters  13-23.  Prophecies  against  neighboring 
heathen  nations,  evidently  extracts  from  speeches  to 
the  people  to  strengthen  the  faith  of  the  just  among 
them  when  heathen  nations  were  apparently  more 
victorious  and  prosperous  than  Judah. 

Chapter  20  shows  a  device  of  Isaiah  going  in  his 
shirt  sleeves  and  bare  feet  at  times  to  draw  the  atten- 
tion of  the  irreligious  multitude  to  his  speeches. 

Part  III.  Isaiah  becomes  an  old  man,  the  old  man 
eloquent.  Hezekiah  the  king  about  711 
B.  C.  The  northern  kingdom  is  now  a 
part  of  Assyria.  Judah  is  invaded  by 
Assyria,  Sennacherib  besieges  Jerusalem. 

Chapters  24-27.  Temple  Speech :  alternate  descrip- 
tions of  judgment  and  salvation,  the  judgment  fearful, 
the  salvation  glorious,  increasing  in  feeling  till  one 
can  hear  the  groans  of  those  suffering  judgment  and 
the  songs  of  those  enjoying  salvation;  a  strong  com- 
mingling of  impending  disaster  unless  the  nation  re- 
pents, and  of  a  future  glory  to  those  who  obey  God. 

Chapters  28-35.  Seem  to  be  notes  or  sketches  of 
various  speeches  in  the  temple  courts  of  this  period 
and  several  quite  full  extracts  of  polished  orations. 
The  general  bearing  of  these  speeches  is  to  encourage 
the  faithful  when  danger  seems  impending  and  to 
warn  the  corrupt  among  the  people  of  a  sure  if  not 
immediate  disaster.  Whatever  the  condition  of  each 
day  the  living  issues  were  religious,  not  mainly  reli- 
gious observances  but  religion  in  a  righteous  life. 

Chapters  40-66  are  described  in  chapter  13  as  lofty 
oratory  breaking  forth  into  poetry. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  STORY  OF  THREE  ORATIONS  IN  JERU- 
SALEM, BY  ZEPHANIAH,  HABAKKUK 
AND  JEREMIAH,  ON  THE  EVE  OF 
ITS  DESTRUCTION  BY  NEBUCH- 
ADNEZZAR 

Letters  of  the  Princess  Zebidah  in  Jerusalem 

AND  Her  Husband,  the  Prince  Azariah, 

A  Captive  in  Babylon 

The  Princess  Zebidah  to  Prince  Asariah: 

When  the  last  gleam  of  the  spears  sank  beyond  the 
hills  north  of  the  city  my  heart  seemed  to  die  within 
me.  That  I  shotild  be  left  here  and  my  husband  be 
carried  a  captive  by  our  enemies  to  far  off  Babylon 
seemed  more  than  I  could  bear.  It  was  only  the  care 
of  our  young  children  and  the  expectation  of  another 
child  that  at  all  reconciled  me  to  my  hard  lot ;  it  seemed 
my  God-given  duty  to  remain  in  our  palace  while  you 
faced  the  long  march  alone.  It  may  cheer  your  lonely 
heart  to  know  another  son  has  been  given  us ;  the  baby, 
the  very  image  of  his  father,  is  strong  and  well  and 
I  am  a  proud  mother,  in  splendid  health,  and  as  happy 
as  I  can  be  with  my  husband  so  far  away. 

Our  city  is  speedily  recovering  from  its  terrible 
siege  and  capture.  Our  King  is  of  David's  line  and 
though  he  rules  under  the  sway  of  Babylon  he  seems 
of  an  independent  spirit  and  is  arousing  the  people  to 

85 


86  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

the  same  independence.  The  Temple  has  been  re- 
paired and  refurnished  and  the  people  assemble  for 
worship  and  the  priests  minister  at  its  altar  as  before 
it  was  desecrated.  While  there  are  a  few  who  feel 
that  we  have  not  reformed,  as  a  nation,  from  our  evil 
ways  and  that  more  terrible  disaster  threatens,  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  hold  that  we  have  suffered 
enough,  more  than  our  due;  that  we  have  reformed 
enough,  all  that  could  be  required  of  us  and  that  we 
are  on  the  eve  of  great  prosperity.  They  expect  the 
speedy  return  of  our  captives  from  Babylon,  that  our 
nation  will  soon  break  off  its  foreign  yoke  and  that  our 
God  will  soon  show  plainly  that  we  are  still  his  favored 
people.  I  wish  I  could  believe  all  this  for  oh !  how  I 
wish  for  the  quick  return  of  the  captives!  Do  you 
remember.  Beloved,  when  we  heard  together  the  great 
oration  of  Zephaniah  in  the  courts  of  the  Temple? 
All  was  fair  in  our  lives  then,  we  had  just  been  mar- 
ried, the  festivities  of  our  two  princely  and  wealthy 
families  were  the  pride  and  delight  of  the  city;  and 
you  and  I  were  among  the  Temple  worshippers  that 
day  with  our  love  and  joy  voicing  themselves  in  songs 
of  praise  to  our  God.  All  was  prosperous  in  our  fair 
land  under  the  reign  of  the  good  King  Josiah  and 
the  Temple  courts  were  thronged  with  worshippers. 
We  were  surprised  when  our  friend  Zephaniah  stepped 
from  the  group  of  princes  surrounding  the  king  and 
reaching  the  platform  of  the  priests  began  to  speak 
to  the  people.  We  had  honored  him  as  one  of  the 
noblest  of  men  but  had  not  thought  of  him  as  a 
prophet,  but  now  as  he  began  to  speak  there  was  that 
indescribable  something  in  the  bearing  of  his  person. 


ZEPHANIAH,  HABAKKUK,  JEREMIAH   ^7 

in  the  flash  of  his  eye,  in  the  tone  of  his  voice*  that 
proclaimed  he  had  a  message  from  God  to  us.  What 
a  heart-searching  message  it  was!  He  charged  the 
people  with  worshipping  the  host  of  heaven  upon  the 
house-tops,  with  worshipping  the  gods  of  other  na- 
tions, with  worshipping  even  their  own  king  equally 
with  God  himself.  He  turned  to  rebuke  the  King's 
sons  and  the  princes,  arrayed  as  we  were  in  foreign 
apparel,  for  adopting  the  manners  and  customs  of 
idolaters.  He  charged  the  high  and  low  alike  with 
violence  and  deceit,  with  licentiousness  and  fraud 
breaking  down  even  the  sanctity  of  the  home.  He 
represented  God  as  searching  Jerusalem  with  a  candle 
and  finding  only  those  who,  in  their  hearts,  felt  that 
God  was  indifferent  to  good  and  to  evil.  He  then 
called  upon  all  to  recognize  the  presence  of  the  Lord 
who  cares  for  purity  of  worship  and  the  resulting 
purity  of  life  above  all  else. 

Having  revealed  to  us  as  by  a  flash  of  lightning 
the  prevailing  corruption,  he  denounced  upon  city  and 
nation  the  terrible  judgment  of  God.  It  was  impend- 
ing. How  his  words  still  ring  in  my  memory !  "The 
day  of  the  Lord  is  at  hand,  a  day  of  wrath,  a  day  of 
trouble  and  distress,  a  day  of  wasteness  and  desola- 
tion, a  day  of  darkness  and  gloominess,  a  day  of 
clouds  and  thick  darkness,  a  day  of  the  trumpet  and 
alarm  against  the  fenced  cities  and  against  the  high 
battlements,  a  day  of  distress  among  men  who  shall 
walk  like  blind  men  because  they  have  sinned  against 
the  Lord,  and  their  blood  shall  be  poured  out  as  dust." 

Alas,  alas,  though  there  were  many  who  were  true 

*  Zephaniah,  the  whole  book. 


88  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

in  their  hearts  to  God,  you  and  I  among  them  I  know, 
though  there  were  many  who  turned  unto  God  in  true 
repentance,  still  the  nation  was  not  touched;  and 
Zephaniah  proved  himself  the  herald  of  the  coming 
storm.  In  less  than  a  year  from  that  day  of  warning 
the  good  King  Josiah,  then  an  ally  of  the  Assyrians, 
had  been  killed  in  battle  and  his  son  and  successor  had 
been  captured  and  carried  into  Egypt  and  our  nation 
had  become  tributary  to  Egypt. 

That  was  indeed  "a  day  of  darkness  and  gloomi- 
ness" but  it  was  quickly  followed  by  "the  day  of  clouds 
and  thick  darkness."  The  great  King  of  Babylon, 
Nebuchadnezzar,  with  his  fierce  army  had  captured 
Nineveh,  he  swept  down  over  Assyria  and  fought 
against  Egypt  and  conquered  it,  and  we  became  tribu- 
tary to  Babylon.  He  took  back  with  him  to  Babylon 
some  of  our  finest  young  men.  Do  you  remember 
what  a  splendid  boy  Daniel  was?  And  your  cousin, 
bearing  your  own  name,  was  almost  as  noble  in  his 
youthful  beauty  as  you  were  when  I  first  fell  in  love 
with  you. 

After  a  few  years  came  our  fierce  rebellion  against 
Babylon  under  our  King  Jehoiakim  and  our  "day  of 
thick  darkness"  was  followed  by  "the  day  of  the 
trumpet  and  alarm  against  the  fenced  cities  and  the 
high  battlements."  Nebuchadnezzar  with  his  great 
victorious  army  drove  our  armies  before  him  with 
terrible  slaughter  and  shut  them  up  in  Jerusalem  and 
then  he  laid  siege  to  our  fair  city.  Bravely  you  led 
your  men,  bravely  all  the  princes  and  their  men  fought 
for  our  king  and  nation;  and  we  women  cheered  you 
on;  but  all  was  in  vain.    The  walls  were  broken  down. 


ZEPHANIAH,  HABAKKUK,  JEREMIAH  89 

Nebuchadnezzar  and  his  fierce  army  entered  the  city, 
and  we  were  in  his  power. 

When  he  returned  to  Babylon  he  took  with  him 
many  captives,  the  noblest  of  the  land;  he  took  you, 
my  beloved.  What  is  your  fate  in  that  far-off  land, 
among  your  enemies,  the  strange,  fierce  and  powerful 
race  who  have  conquered  us?  What  are  you  doing 
among  them  ?    What  are  you  enduring  there  ? 

Is  the  day  Zephaniah  described  *'the  day  of  wrath, 
the  day  of  trouble  and  distress"  almost  over?  You 
remember  he  closed  his  great  oration  with  a  descrip- 
tion of  a  day  when  the  nation  should  return  with  the 
whole  heart  unto  God.  In  what  glowing  terms  he  de- 
scribed it,  ''The  Lord  thy  God  is  in  the  midst  of  thee, 
a  mighty  one  who  will  save ;  he  will  rejoice  over  thee 
with  joy,  he  will  rest  in  his  love  for  thee,  he  will 
rejoice  over  thee  with  singing."  Oh  that  the  day  of 
light  and  gladness  would  speedily  dawn,  that  the 
captivity  might  return  with  joy,  that  you,  oh  beloved, 
might  be  returned  to  my  arms  and  to  your  children. 
But  there  are  many  who  fear  a  still  greater  darkness 
and  distress;  for  the  nation,  they  say,  has  not  yet  re- 
turned with  the  whole  heart  unto  God. 

It  was  only  this  morning  after  the  daily  sacrifice 
that  I  heard  another  great  oration  in  the  Temple 
courts.  The  scene  was  far  different  from  that  when 
you  and  I,  in  our  happiness,  heard  Zephaniah:  the 
court  of  the  king  and  the  princes  was  then  crowded 
with  a  glittering  throng  of  noble  men  and  women. 
This  morning  our  King  Zedekiah  was  standing  by  the 
splendid  King's  Pillar  of  Solomon  but  he  seemed 
gloomy  and  depressed,  and  there  were  but  few  princes 


go  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

standing  about  him;  we  could  not  help  thinking  of 
the  many  princes  and  great  men  who  were  captives  in 
far-off  Babylon.  Neither  was  the  court  of  the  people 
crowded  with  happy,  prosperous  worshippers  as  in  that 
day  when  we  looked  out  upon  them;  many  of  that 
gathering,  the  most  wealthy  and  the  most  skillful, 
were  also  captives  in  Babylon. 

The  Priests  had  ministered  at  the  Altar  and  the 
large  choir,  with  the  many  instruments  of  music,  had 
rendered  one  of  the  most  joyous  songs  of  praise,  but 
there  seemed  little  heart  in  the  singing  and  the  minis- 
tering: all  lacked  the  exuberance  of  joyful  praise  of 
the  so  recent  past  when  you  and  I  together  were  car- 
ried along  in  its  exultation.  The  ministering  priest 
had  just  pronounced  the  benediction,  giving  the  bless- 
ing of  God  to  his  people,  and  we  were  turning  to  leave 
the  Temple  when  there  stepped  forth  from  the  Court 
of  the  people  a  tall,  dignified  man  and,  reaching  the 
platform,  he  beckoned  to  the  people  to  hear  him.  Many 
of  the  people  seemed  to  know  him  and  to  hold  him 
in  high  regard,  and  quickly  turned  to  listen  to  him; 
but  very  few  of  the  princes  seemed  to  have  any  interest 
in  him  and  were  detained  only  by  a  vague  curiosity 
to  hear  one  of  the  people  speak.  I  afterwards  learned 
his  name  was  Habakkuk  and  that  he  was  one  of  the 
most  upright  business  men  of  the  city  and  a  man  of 
fine  culture,  a  man  righteously  indignant  against 
wrong  and  injustice  however  successful  they  might  be, 
whose  sympathies  were  heartily  enlisted  in  favor  of 
those  who  were  unjustly  oppressed. 

It  was  the  most  dramatic  speech*  I  have  ever  heard, 

*  Habakkuk,  the  whole  book. 


ZEPHANIAH,  HABAKKUK,  JEREMIAH  91 

and  all  were  soon  listening  as  for  our  lives.  He  did 
not  seem  to  be  speaking  to  us  at  all  though  every  word 
could  be  easily  heard  and  there  was  thrilling  pathos  in 
his  voice.  He  looked  up  into  the  clear  sky  and  seemed 
to  be  speaking  to  God.  Then  he  listened  to  some 
mysterious  voice  and  repeated  what  it  said  to  him, 
what  God  said  to  him;  but  even  this  word  of  God  did 
not  seem  to  be  for  all  of  us,  but  only  for  him  and  for 
those  like  him. 

He  began  by  expostulating  with  God,  "O  Lord  how 
long  shall  I  cry  unto  thee  of  violence  and  thou  wilt 
not  save?  Why  dost  thou  allow  iniquity  to  prosper 
and  judgment  to  be  perverted,  and  the  law  to  be  slack 
and  the  wicked  to  compass  the  righteous,  and  strife 
and  spoiling  to  triumph?"  While  he  did  not  speak 
directly  to  us  we  began  to  feel  that  he  was  speaking 
to  God  of  us,  and  we  began  to  tremble,  and  to  wonder 
what  God  thought  of  us,  what  he  would  say  in  reply. 
Then  Habakkuk  paused  and  Hstened.  Soon  he 
seemed  to  hear  a  voice  from  the  bending  heavens  and 
he  repeated  to  us  what  he  heard.  Jehovah  says,  "I 
will  call  the  Chaldeans  again,  that  bitter  and  hasty 
nation;  their  horses  are  swifter  than  leopards  and 
more  fierce  than  the  evening  wolves;  they  fly  as  an 
eagle  that  hasteth  to  devour;  they  come  for  violence; 
they  gather  captives  as  the  sand."  Habakkuk  was  cast 
down  by  this  message,  so  were  all  who  heard  him. 

But  he  soon  recovered  his  spirit,  he  straightened  to 
his  full  height  and  looking  up  into  the  clear  heavens 
he  began  to  expostulate  with  God.  •  "O  Lord  my  God, 
thou  holy  one,  thou  who  art  of  purer  eyes  than  to 
behold  evil,  how  canst  thou  call  the  wicked  to  swallow 


92  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

up  the  man  that  is  more  righteous  than  he?"  We 
listened  awe-struck.  That  which  had  often  troubled 
us,  that  the  worshippers  of  false  gods,  that  the  fierce 
Chaldeans  should  be  allowed  to  conquer  us,  the  wor- 
shippers of  the  one  true  God :  that  they  who  were  so 
much  worse  than  we,  bad  as  we  were,  should  crush  us, 
and  our  God  look  calmly  on  and  permit  and  even  seem 
to  approve  their  cruel  oppression :  we  could  not  under- 
stand it,  but  we  had  hardly  dared  to  think  of  it;  we 
certainly  never  dared  to  speak  to  each  other  of  it ;  and 
here  was  one  of  our  number  who  dared  to  look  up  into 
the  heavens  and  say  to  God  himself,  "How  can  you 
call  the  Chaldeans,  so  much  worse  than  we,  to  triumph 
over  us?" 

Then  Habakkuk  paused  again,  now  for  a  much 
longer  time;  he  looked  up  into  the  heavens  as  if  he 
were  gazing  on  tremendous  scenes  and  listening  to  a 
wonderful  message;  when  he  began  to  speak  it  was  as 
if  he  were  talking  to  himself  of  what  he  saw  and  heard. 
"The  Lord  has  taken  me  up  as  into  a  high  tower,  I  am 
looking  out  upon  his  plan  among  the  nations,  the  great 
unfolding  of  his  purpose  in  his  appointed  times.  I  am 
standing  by  him  who  orders  all  great  movements 
among  men,  I  cannot  hinder  them,  nor  can  anyone,  but 
he  is  explaining  them  to  me.  Bad  as  we  are,  the  Chal- 
deans are  worse  than  we ;  God  knows  it,  and  does  not 
approve  of  them;  he  simply  is  using  them  to  accom- 
plish his  purposes  which  are  righteous  and  true  alto- 
gether. There  is  a  wide  sweep  to  his  great  plans, 
there  is  a  far-off  consummation  which  he  is  bringing 
about;  from  all  the  present  confusion  and  great  dis- 
aster there  will  arise  a  kingdom  of  faithfulness  to  God 


ZEPHANIAH,  HABAKKUK,  JEREMIAH   93 

and  to  man,  a  kingdom  of  peace  and  prosperity.  In 
the  present  distress,  in  the  greater  distress  soon  to 
come,  the  just  man  can  be  independent  of  his  sur- 
roundings, he  can  hve  by  his  faith,  he  can  look  up  to 
God  and  trust  him,  he  can  look  into  the  future  and 
know  that  God  will  bring  about  his  kingdom  of  right- 
eousness." 

Then  Habakkuk  took  a  lofty  flight  of  eloquence. 
He  seemed  to  be  standing  by  the  throne  of  the  Ruler 
of  the  nations.  He  denounced  woe  after  woe  against 
evil-doers  whoever  they  were  and  however  triumphant 
in  the  present :  "Woe  to  him  that  increases  that  which 
is  not  his,  woe  to  him  that  getteth  an  evil  gain  for 
his  house,  woe  to  him  that  succeedeth  by  violence  even 
in  building  a  city,  woe  to  him  that  maketh  his  neighbor 
drunken,  woe  to  the  maker  of  dumb  idols.  However 
they  may  prosper  the  Lord  is  against  them,  he  will 
use  them  to  bring  about  repentance,  he  will  throw 
down  the  persistent  in  wickedness,  he  will  establish  his 
kingdom  in  righteousness."  Habakkuk  closed  his  won- 
derful oration  with  the  loftiest  expression  of  his  con- 
firmed faith  in  God.  He  described  the  glorious 
majesty  of  God  as  he  had  revealed  himself  and  his 
plans  to  the  prophet  upon  his  high  tower  overlooking 
the  nations ;  he  described  him  as  "threshing  the  nations 
in  his  anger,  as  going  forth  for  the  salvation  of  his 
people"  while  the  whole  earth  was  filled  with  his 
glory.  "Whatever  shall  be  the  distress"  said  the 
prophet  "however  great  shall  be  the  disaster  coming 
upon  us,  I  for  my  part  will  hold  fast  to  God :  though 
the  fig-tree  shall  not  blossom,  neither  shall  fruit  be  in 
the  vines,  the  labor  of  the  olive  shall  fail  and  the  fields 


94  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

shall  yield  no  meat,  the  flock  shall  be  cut  off  from  the 
fold  and  there  shall  be  no  herd  in  the  stalls,  yet  I  will 
rejoice  in  the  Lord,  I  will  joy  in  the  God  of  my  salva- 
tion." 

The  effect  of  this  great  speech  upon  the  multitude 
was  various.  We  all  of  us  felt  that  we  had  heard  the 
verdict  of  God  upon  our  character :  that  the  nation  had 
not  repented  of  her  transgression,  that  darker  days 
were  coming  upon  us,  that  the  day  of  wrath  was  draw- 
ing nigh  when  God  would  call  again  the  Chaldeans 
to  oppress  us.  Many  went  down  from  the  Temple- 
courts  with  frowns  on  their  faces,  muttering  their 
wrath,  w^ith  rebellion  ruling  in  their  hearts.  Many 
talked  of  reforms  that  were  needed  and  that  should  be 
immediately  undertaken.  Many  tore  their  garments, 
covered  their  heads  and  sobbed  out  their  repentance, 
and  called  aloud  upon  God  for  mercy.  I  for  my  part, 
and  there  were  some  I  have  learned  who  felt  like  I 
did,  had  a  strange  exaltation  of  spirit,  I  felt  with 
Habakkuk  that  whatever  befell  us  I  would  trust  in 
God.  I  had  a  strange  feeling  that  I  was  standing  in 
God's  presence,  that  he  was  explaining  to  me  his  pur- 
poses, that  he  was  asking  me  to  trust  him,  that  he 
was  assuring  me  of  his  watchful  care.  So  I  write  to 
you  about  this  great  oration.  May  you,  beloved,  in 
far-off  Babylon,  have  unshaken  faith  in  the  God  of 
our  salvation.  May  you,  a  captive  in  a  strange  land, 
and  I,  dwelling  in  this  stricken  city,  be  conscious  of 
God's  presence  with  us  and  trust  him.  We  cannot  joy 
indeed  in  our  sorrowful  separation  and  our  uncertain 
future,  but  may  we  joy  in  the  Lord,  the  God  of  our 
salvation. 


ZEPHANIAH,  HABAKKUK,  JEREMIAH  95 

Prince  Azariah  to  the  Princess  Zehidah 

An  opportunity  has  arisen  for  me  to  send  you  a 
letter.  Can  it  be  that  nearly  half  a  year  has  passed 
since  I  saw  your  dear  face?  But  I  will  not  fill  your 
heart  with  sadness  by  recounting  my  sorrows  and 
loneliness.  I  know  that  you  and  the  children  are  safe 
in  the  care  of  King  Zedekiah  who  rules  under  the 
strong  sway  of  Babylon,  and  I  think  often  of  you  and 
them  protected  and  comfortable  in  our  home  palace, 
under  the  shadow  of  the  great  Temple  of  God.  This 
is  not  only  a  land  far  off  but  a  strangely  different  land 
from  the  home  land.  When  I  go  upon  the  house-top 
and  look  toward  Jerusalem,  and  then  look  all  around 
beyond  the  bounds  of  the  city,  there  is  not  a  mountain 
in  sight  not  even  a  hill,  we  are  living  on  a  boundless 
plain.  After  passing  through  beautiful  Damascus  we 
journeyed  several  days  northward  and  then  turned  to 
the  east.  The  country  became  more  level  but  we  could 
see  the  great  mountains  on  the  horizon;  at  length  we 
could  see  only  their  blue  outlines  and  snow-capped 
Hermon  rising  above  them,  then  we  lost  them  alto- 
gether. Our  journey  then  followed  a  great  river,  and 
the  hills  along  its  great  plain  were  far  off  and  con- 
stantly receding  until  long  before  we  reached  Babylon 
we  pursued  our  weary  march  through  a  boundless 
plain. 

Babylon  itself  is  a  vast  city  stretching  out  many 
miles  along  the  great  river.  In  its  center  there  is  a 
great  mound,  a  hill  made  by  the  labor  of  men's  hands, 
and  on  this  hill  there  is  a  magnificent  temple  where 
they  worship  their  gods.  Our  conquerors  are  tolerant 
of  the  worship  of  their  captives  of  our  and  of  other 


96  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

races,  we  are  allowed  to  worship  our  God;  but  theirs 
is  only  a  kindly  tolerance  of  our  ignorance,  for  they 
say  our  God  is  only  a  local  god,  confined  to  our  home- 
land, and  not  able  to  defend  even  his  own  land  against 
the  power  of  their  gods. 

On  the  gentle  rise  from  the  plain  to  the  mound  of 
the  temple  are  builded  the  great  palace  of  King 
Nebuchadnezzar  and  the  many  palaces  of  the  princes 
and  the  wealthy  men  of  the  city.  I  live  in  one  of  these 
palaces,  my  beloved,  and  I  have  no  harsh  treatment 
nor  any  real  hardship  for  while  I  am  a  captive  I  have 
become  almost  a  companion  of  Istaroch,  one  of  the 
wise-men  of  the  Chaldeans.  His  palace  looks  over 
the  river  and  his  fine  garden  stretches  down  to  the 
water's  edge.  There  are  many  slaves  in  the  palace  and 
they  are  all  eager  to  do  my  bidding.  But  I  do  not 
see  the  wise-man's  family,  he  has  no  sons  and  his 
wife  and  daughters  live  in  their  part  of  the  palace,  and 
whenever  I  catch  a  glimpse  of  them  in  their  side  of  the 
garden,  they  are  heavily  veiled.  The  eunuchs  who 
wait  upon  them  tell  me  they  are  charming  women, 
beautiful  in  face  and  figure,  clad  in  rich  garments  and 
of  most  gracious  manners. 

The  wise-man  has  great  knowledge  on  many  sub- 
jects, has  read  many  books,  and  I  respect  and  admire 
him  for  his  vast  learning  and  noble  spirit.  His  house 
is  full  of  books,  great  piles  of  the  brick  books  of  the 
national  history  and  literature  and  many  rock  slabs  and 
papyrus  rolls  of  other  nations,  of  Egypt  and  even  of 
our  own  land.  I  have  charge  of  this  vast  library  and 
he  often  consults  me  upon  the  great  subjects  of  his 
studies.    He  associates  me  with  him  also  in  his  study 


ZEPHANIAH,  HABAKKUK,  JEREMIAH  97 

of  the  stars,  and  we  spend  many  hours  together  on  his 
house-top  at  night  looking  up  into  the  clear  heavens. 

Only  two  weeks  ago  a  strange  thing  happened  which 
for  days  filled  my  heart  with  dreadful  foreboding  but 
which  has  turned  out  to  quicken  my  faith  in  our  great 
God.  Istaroch  and  the  other  wise-men  of  the  Chal- 
deans were  summoned  to  the  presence  of  Nebuch- 
adnezzar and  I  attended  upon  him.  When  they  had 
bowed  themselves  before  the  great  king  he  said  to  them 
in  stately  language  to  this  effect :  "I  have  had  a  dream 
which  troubles  me,  I  have  entirely  forgotten  what  it 
was;  so  I  have  summoned  you  to  tell  me  the  dream 
and  its  interpretation."  Then  Istaroch  answered,  "If 
you  will  tell  us  the  dream  we  will  tell  you  its  meaning, 
but  it  is  too  much  to  require  of  us  to  tell  you  the  dream 
itself,  the  wisest  of  men  cannot  do  that."  Then  the 
king  grew  angry  and  frowned  upon  the  wise-men  and 
dismissed  them  with  the  command:  "Tell  me  the 
dream  by  tomorrow  at  this  hour;  if  you  fail  I  will 
command  that  you  all  be  slain,  your  families  ban- 
ished and  your  property  confiscated."  There  was 
great  excitement  in  the  city  that  night  for  the  wise- 
men  were  highly  regarded,  almost  worshipped  by  the 
people.  I  was  astounded  at  the  selfcontrol  of  Istaroch; 
he  had  no  word  to  say  against  the  king,  he  seemed 
willing  to  die  at  his  command  without  a  sign  of  rebel- 
lion; and  he  spent  the  night  in  giving  instruction  to 
the  eunuchs  for  the  care  of  his  family,  and  in  making 
preparations  for  his  death  upon  the  morrow.  When 
the  morrow  came  and  Istaroch  and  the  wise-men  were 
about  to  assemble  to  confess  to  the  king  their  failure 
and  to  await  the  execution  of  his  sentence,  there  came 


98  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

a  messenger  from  the  king  granting  a  delay  of  three 
days  and  saying  this  was  upon  the  appeal  of  Daniel, 
one  of  the  captives  of  Judah,  who  had  assured  the 
king  that  he  would  entreat  his  God  to  reveal  the  secret. 
The  three  days  of  waiting  were  days  of  intense  excite- 
ment not  only  among  the  wise-men  but  in  the  whole 
city.  The  wise-men  confessed  their  lives  were  entirely 
dependent  upon  the  God  of  Daniel,  that  all  their  learn- 
ing was  in  vain  and  their  own  gods  could  not  or  would 
not  help  them.  The  citizens  of  the  world-conquering 
city  were  equally  bewildered ;  they  attributed  their  vic- 
tory over  all  other  nations  to  their  superior  wisdom 
and  power  as  displayed  especially  in  their  king  and  in 
his  wise-men,  and  to  the  superior  power  and  favor  of 
their  gods  who  had  set  the  gods  of  all  other  nations 
at  naught;  and  they  had  a  special  contempt  for  the 
God  of  captured  Judah,  the  god  of  the  hills  they  called 
him;  and  now  the  lives  of  their  wise-men,  whom  they 
honored  and  worshipped,  were  entirely  dependent 
upon  this  condemned  and  vanquished  God.  There  was 
a  strange  commingling  of  hope  and  despair;  the 
despair  was  heavy,  dark,  oppressive ;  the  hope  was  like 
a  single  beam  of  light  trying  to  break  through  the 
darkness.  Could  it  dispel  the  darkness?  Would  the 
god  of  the  hills  save  the  wise-men  of  Babylon? 

The  suspense  became  intense,  all  other  affairs  and 
interests  in  the  city  were  forgotten.  Could  the  god  of 
the  hills,  would  he  save  the  wise-men  of  Babylon? 
Could  he,  would  he  reveal  to  the  great  Nebuchadnez- 
zar his  forgotten  dream? 

On  the  third  day  Daniel*  stood  in  the  presence  of 

*  Daniel,  the  2d  chapter. 


ZEPHANIAH,  HABAKKUK,  JEREMIAH   99 

King  Nebuchadnezzar,  he  told  him  that  not  because 
of  his  learning  but  only  because  of  his  appeal,  the  God 
of  heaven  had  revealed  to  him  the  king's  dream.  With 
the  most  serene  confidence  he  then  described  to  the 
king  his  own  dream  which  he  had  entirely  forgotten. 
He  had  dreamed  of  a  great  image  whose  head  was  of 
gold,  his  breast  and  arms  of  silver,  his  belly  and  thighs 
of  brass,  his  legs  of  iron,  his  feet  part  of  iron  and 
part  of  clay.  The  king  had  then  dreamed  of  a  great 
stone  cut  without  hands,  differing  from  the  hewn 
stones  of  the  city  of  Babylon,  this  stone  smote  the 
image  to  powder  so  that  the  wind  carried  the  powdered 
image  away  and  the  stone  then  became  a  great  moun- 
tain and  filled  the  w^hole  earth. 

The  king  was  astounded !  It  was  in  every  detail  the 
very  dream  that  had  troubled  him  and  which  he  had 
entirely  forgotten.  Daniel  then  told  the  king  the 
meaning  of  the  dream.  The  God  of  heaven  had  re- 
vealed to  the  king  the  succession  of  kingdoms  he  would 
set  up  in  the  earth :  he  had  given  to  Nebuchadnezzar 
the  present  kingdom,  he  was  the  head  of  gold;  then 
would  follow  a  succession  of  baser  kingdoms  through 
long  ages ;  at  length  the  God  of  heaven  would  raise  up 
a  kingdom  of  strange  and  small  beginnings  which 
would  sweep  away  all  the  remains  of  the  other  king- 
doms and  would  grow  and  flourish  until  it  filled  the 
whole  earth,  it  would  last  forever,  the  kingdom  of 
the  God  of  heaven,  the  everlasting  and  universal  king- 
dom of  heaven  in  the  earth.  The  God  of  heaven  has 
revealed  to  thee,  oh  king,  his  wide  and  far-reaching 
plans.  The  effect  was  wonderful,  never  had  such  a 
thing  been  dreamed.    The  great  King  Nebuchadnezzar 


loo  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

fell  down  upon  his  face  before  Daniel  and  acknowl- 
edged with  utmost  and  fearless  frankness,  "Of  a  truth 
your  God  is  the  God  of  gods  and  the  Lord  of  kings,  the 
great  revealer  of  secrets."  Then  the  king  established 
Daniel  in  honor,  wealth  and  vast  authority  and  made 
him  ruler  over  the  whole  province  of  Babylon  and  a 
member  of  the  king's  court.  The  wonderful  scene  soon 
became  known  through  the  whole  city;  the  wise-men 
were  saved;  the  king  had  acknowledged  the  God  of 
Daniel  as  the  God  of  gods,  the  God  who  had  revealed 
the  forgotten  dream,  who  had  revealed  the  long  suc- 
cession of  kingdoms  to  come,  the  Lord  of  kings  who 
ruled  in  the  whole  earth,  whose  far-reaching  plans 
covered  the  whole  future. 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  bewildered  feelings 
apparent  in  this  capital  city  of  the  world's  empire; 
their  gods  are  seen  to  be  powerless  in  a  great  emer- 
gency, our  God  is  acknowledged  as  the  great  God  over 
all.  Still  they  are  in  the  ascendancy,  we  are  still  cap- 
tives, but  they  treat  us  now  w^ith  a  growing  considera- 
tion and  respect.  But  their  bewilderment  is  as  nothing 
compared  with  ours.  When  the  wonderful  speech  of 
Daniel  became  known  we  thought  our  captivity  would 
at  once  end,  but  the  days  have  passed  with  no  sign  of 
a  change.  The  sun  rises  and  the  sun  sets  upon  a  race 
of  captives  and  Babylon  still  triumphs  over  us.  But, 
oh  my  beloved,  I  am  slowly  learning  the  lesson :  our 
God  is  here  as  well  as  in  Jerusalem,  he  is  carrying  out 
his  far-reaching  plans,  though  we  cannot  understand 
him  thoroughly  we  can  still  trust  him,  he  will  care 
for  you,  he  will  care  for  me  and  for  all  those  who 
trust  him.    Let  us  live  in  this  faith. 


ZEPHANIAH,  HABAKKUK,  JEREMIAH   loi 

The  Princess  Zebidah  to  Prince  Azariah 

Strange  things  are  happening  in  Jerusalem  and  to 
our  greatest  prophet,  Jeremiah.  You  remember,  be- 
loved, when  you  and  I  heard  him  make  his  great 
speech*  in  the  temple-court,  when  he  threatened  the 
judgment  of  the  righteous  God  against  the  temple 
itself  because  of  the  sins  of  the  people?  You  remem- 
ber how  he  burst  forth  in  his  terrible  denunciation: 
"Trust  ye  not  in  lying  words;  the  temple  of  the  Lord 
the  temple  of  the  Lord,  say  ye,  as  if  the  temple  could 
protect  you ;  ye  steal  and  murder  and  commit  adultery, 
ye  swear  falsely,  ye  have  made  the  temple,  my  house, 
a  den  of  robbers;  wherefore  amend  your  ways  or  I 
will  do  to  this  house,  wherein  ye  trust,  and  to  the 
place  I  gave  unto  you  as  I  have  done  to  Shiloh :  I  will 
cast  you  out  of  my  sight."  How  proud  I  was  of  you, 
my  husband,  and  of  the  other  princes  that  day,  for 
when  the  prophets  and  the  priests  and  the  mob  of  the 
people  in  their  wrath  clamored  for  Jeremiah  and  were 
about  to  kill  him,  you  and  the  princes  sprang  to  his 
rescue  and,  at  the  risk  of  your  lives,  persuaded  the 
people  that  he  was  not  worthy  of  death  since  he  had 
spoken  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  That  was  a  terrible 
scene  and  a  fearful  speech :  for  when  a  few  days  after- 
ward you  and  I  rode  our  horses  over  Shiloh  and  saw 
the  ruins  of  the  city  and  that  the  whole  country  about 
it  was  desolate  and  without  an  inhabitant,  we  shud- 
dered to  think  that  such  would  be  the  fate  of  Jeru- 
salem and  of  the  splendid  Temple  of  Solomon. 

Rumors  of  the  strange  things  happening  in  Jeru- 
salem have  already  reached  you,   and  rumors  have 

*  Jeremiah,  7-10,  also  26th  chapter. 


102  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

reached  us  that  Nebuchadnezzar  has  gathered  a  great 
army  and  is  marching  toward  us  to  subdue  our  rebel- 
lion. Zedekiah,  the  King  of  David's  line,  is  awakening 
great  enthusiasm  among  the  people  to  cast  off  the 
dominion  of  Babylon,  and  many  prophets  are  siding 
with  him  and  promising  him  victory  and  the  return 
of  the  captives.  During  the  growth  of  this  spirit  in 
the  past  few  years  and  now  that  it  is  flaming  forth  in 
open  revolt,  Jeremiah  steadfastly  opposes  it  and  coun- 
sels submission  and  loyalty  to  Babylon.  He  urges  the 
nation  to  strive  to  reform  its  evil  ways  rather  than  to 
struggle  against  outward  foes.  He  says  that  our 
fathers  prospered  and  were  free  because  they  did 
justice,  they  defended  the  poor  and  needy,  that  this 
is  the  way  to  know  the  Lord  and  to  live  in  his  favor ; 
and  if  the  whole  nation  refuses  this  it  will  be  destroyed, 
not  only  will  Jerusalem  be  again  captured  but  it  will 
become  desolate,  without  inhabitant;  and  he  counsels 
all  who  love  their  country  and  are  loyal  to  their  God 
to  live  in  righteousness  with  each  other  and  in  submis- 
sion to  Babylon.  He  is  a  strong  man  and  a  brave  one 
and  very  eloquent  in  speech  and  he  embraces  every 
hopeful  opportunity  to  check  the  impetuous  rush  of 
the  nation  to  its  ruin.  Often  he  speaks  in  the  temple- 
courts  and  often  he  strives  to  reach  and  influence  those 
masses  of  the  people  who  rarely  worship  at  the  temple. 
A  year  or  more  ago  he  took  a  potter's  earthen  bottle 
and,  gathering  a  great  crowd  of  people  at  the  gate 
Harsith  in  the  Valley  of  Hinnom,  he  told  the  people 
that  unless  they  reformed  the  Lord  would  destroy 
them  beyond  repair  just  as  he  cast  the  bottle  upon  the 
rocks  and  broke  it  into  many  pieces.    This  so  enraged 


ZEPHANIAH,  HABAKKUK,  JEREMIAH   103 

the  priest,  Pashur,  the  chief  officer  of  the  temple,  that 
he  had  Jeremiah  arrested  and  put  in  stocks  in  the  gate 
of  the  temple  where  he  was  subjected  to  suffering,  in- 
sult and  shame  until  he  was  released  the  following  day. 

A  short  time  after  this  Jeremiah  made  a  heavy  and 
cumbersome  yoke  and  put  it  about  his  neck  and,  this 
drawing  a  multitude  to  hear  him,  he  counseled  them 
to  submit  to  the  yoke  of  Babylon.  This  so  enraged 
Hananiah,  who  claimed  to  be  a  prophet  of  the  Lord, 
that  he  prophesied  that  God  would  speedily  break  the 
yoke  of  Babylon,  and  he  then  rudely  broke  the  yoke 
off  of  Jeremiah's  neck.  But  nothing  daunted,  Jere- 
miah told  Hananiah  he  was  a  false  prophet  and  that 
God  would  make  a  yoke  of  iron  that  the  people  could 
not  break  off  of  their  necks.  Not  only  does  Jeremiah 
thus  faithfully  counsel  the  people  but  when  called 
before  the  king  he  is  equally  fearless ;  only  a  few  days 
ago  Zedekiah,  who  had  heard  that  Nebuchadnezzar 
was  coming  with  a  large  army  to  war  against  us,  called 
Jeremiah  to  reveal  to  him  the  will  of  the  Lord.  The 
brave  prophet  told  the  king  the  message  of  the  Lord: 
*T  myself  will  fight  against  you  with  an  outstretched 
hand  and  a  strong  arm,  in  anger  and  in  fury  and  in 
great  wrath;  I  will  deliver  Zedekiah,  his  servants  and 
the  people  into  the  hand  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  Oh 
king,  execute  judgment  in  the  morning  and  righteous- 
ness in  the  evening  and  deliver  the  spoiled  from  his 
oppressor  or  my  fury  will  bum  like  fire  because  of  the 
evil  of  your  doings." 

It  was  only  yesterday  that  I  heard  Jeremiah  make 
a  great  speech  in  the  temple  court  at  the  close  of  the 
evening  sacrifice;  and  from  his  great  solemnity  and 


I04  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

earnestness  as  well  as  from  the  burden  of  the  speech 
itself,  it  was  quite  evident  that  he  thought  it  would 
be  his  last  message  to  the  people;  he  spoke  faithfully 
and  bravely  the  message  of  God  which  he  expected 
would  rouse  the  people  to  kill  him.*  There  was  an 
inspiring  manifestation  of  God's  power  at  the  close 
of  the  speech  which  subdued  the  people  and  saved 
Jeremiah  from  the  explosion  of  their  wrath.  The 
speech  seemed  to  be  a  summing  up  of  all  the  messages 
he  had  so  frequently  urged  upon  the  people  as  well 
as  in  line  with  the  messages  of  the  prophets  of  God  in 
former  days.  He  told  them  plainly  that  they  fre- 
quently worshipped  other  gods,  that  even  the  outward 
acts  of  their  worship  of  the  true  God  were  all  in  vain, 
that  the  law  of  God  must  be  written  upon  their  hearts, 
that  each  one  could  serve  God  only  by  trusting  him 
and  giving  him  sincere  and  hearty  obedience.  He 
urged  them,  "Return  ye  now  every  one  from  his  evil 
way  and  from  the  evil  of  his  doings"  and  he  promised 
that  they  should  dwell  in  the  land  in  peace.  But  he 
said,  "Ye  have  not  hearkened  unto  the  message  of  God 
but  ye  provoke  him  to  anger  with  the  work  of  your 
hands  to  your  own  hurt." 

Then  Jeremiah  did  in  the  court  of  the  temple  what 
he  had  frequently  done  in  his  addresses  to  the  people 
in  the  streets  of  the  city :  he  acted  out  in  a  significant 
way  what  God  would  do  to  all  the  workers  of  iniquity 
of  whatever  nation,  what  he  would  do  to  Babylon 
itself  after  the  seventy  years  of  our  captivity  were 
over.  Oh  what  a  long  time  that  is,  shall  I  never  see 
your  dear  face  again,  my  beloved?    Jeremiah  took  a 

•  Jeremiah,  asth  chapter. 


ZEPHANIAH,  HABAKKUK,  JEREMIAH   105 

cup  of  red  wine  in  his  hand  and  lifting  it  up  before 
the  eyes  of  the  people  he  said,  "This  is  the  cup  of  the 
Lord's  fury,  of  the  fury  of  his  wrath  against  all 
iniquity."  He  then  in  the  most  dramatic  way  called 
upon  the  different  nations  to  drink  of  this  cup  saying 
it  would  make  them  a  desolation,  an  astonishment,  a 
hissing  and  a  curse,  it  would  make  them  drunken,  they 
would  reel  to  and  fro  and  fall  and  rise  no  more  on 
account  of  their  iniquity. 

He  was  so  intense  and  vivid  in  his  eloquence,  calling 
up  the  nations  our  neighbors  and  our  own  nation,  that 
we  could  fairly  see  them  standing  before  us.  He  then 
represented  the  nations  as  refusing  to  drink  the  cup 
of  the  Lord's  fury,  and  he  urged  them.  He  said, 
"Thus  saith  the  Lord,  ye  shall  surely  drink."  Now 
a  strange  thing  occurred.  During  the  latter  part  of 
the  afternoon  there  had  been  gathering  over  the  great 
sea  and  advancing  on  the  land,  a  great  cloud;  as  it 
drew  nearer  the  lightning  flashed  and  we  heard  the 
muttering  of  the  thunder.  But  it  advanced  slowly  and 
seemed  to  be  passing  off  to  the  north.  The  great 
choir  had  chosen  as  the  last  song  of  the  evening  wor- 
ship the  Song  of  the  Thunder  Storm*  with  its  seven 
majestic  voices,  closing  with  the  word  of  praise  and 
peace,  "Everything  in  his  temple  saith  glory,  the  Lord 
will  bless  his  people  with  peace."  While  Jeremiah  was 
speaking  the  black  clouds  seemed  returning  from  the 
north,  and  as  he  urged  the  nations  to  drink  the  cup 
of  the  Lord's  fury  the  lightning  flashed  and  the  thun- 
der sounded  fiercely.  Jeremiah  with  his  quick  skill  as 
an  orator  represented  the  thunder  as  the  voice  of  God. 

•  Psalm  29, 


io6  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

"The  Lord  roars  from  on  high,  he  utters  his  voice 
from  his  holy  habitation,  he  shall  mightily  roar  against 
his  own  nation,  he  shall  give  a  shout."  We  could 
almost  hear  the  words  spoken  to  us :  "Ye  shall  surely 
drink  the  cup  of  wrath."  Jeremiah  quickly  brought 
his  message  to  a  close;  turning  to  the  princes  by  the 
King's  Pillar  he  said,  "The  days  of  your  slaughter  are 
fully  come."  Then  we  all  turned  and  quickly  went  to 
our  homes  as  if  pursued  by  the  lightning  and  the  thun- 
der of  the  Lord's  wrath. 

I  do  not  know  when  I  shall  be  able  to  write  to  you 
again,  my  beloved,  I  am  sending  this  by  a  trusted  mes- 
senger by  way  of  Damascus.  This  morning  the  news 
reached  us  that  Nebuchadnezzar  had  reached  and 
passed  through  Tyre  with  his  great  army;  in  a  few 
days  now  we  will  see  the  spears  flashing  in  the  sun 
light  on  the  hilltops,  and  the  city  will  be  besieged.  May 
our  great  Lord  have  you  in  his  faithful  keeping,  and 
you  may  trust  me  and  your  children  to  his  loving 
care. 

SUPPLEMENT  TO  CHAPTER  VI 

The  Book  of  Jeremiah 

Arrangement  in  the  book  of  the  speeches  of  Jeremiah 

Part  I.  Josiah  reigns,  is  conducting  the  reformation 
of  the  nation  but  it  is  largely  superficial. 
About  621  B.  C.  Jeremiah  calls  for 
reformation  of  the  life. 

Chapter  i.     Commission  or  call  of  the  prophet. 

Chapters  2-6.  Temple  Speech  describes  judgment 
and  terror.  In  fifth  chapter  describes  that  it  is  not 
only  the  lowly  but  the  great  men  who  make  their  faces 


ZEPHANIAH,  HABAKKUK,  JEREMIAH   107 

harder  than  a  rock,  who  refuse  to  return,  therefore 
terror  shall  come  upon  all. 

Part  II.  Jehoiakim  reigns,  about  605  B.  C.  Nebu- 
chadnezzar has  conquered  Assyria  and 
Egypt  and  made  Judah  tributary,  Baby- 
lon now  rules  the  world. 

Chapters  7-10.  Shiloh  Speech,  effect  described  in 
chapter  twenty-six,  see  letter  of  the  Princess  Zebidah. 

Chapters  11-13.  Temple  Speech  culminating  in  the 
symbol  of  the  linen  girdle  spoiled  and  worthless. 

Chapters  14-17.  Temple  Speech,  the  cry  of  Jeru- 
salem, a  dramatic  speech  in  which  the  people  are 
represented  crying  unto  the  Lord  and  the  Lord  answers 
them. 

Chapters  18-20.  Street  Speech,  the  potter's  bottle, 
see  the  letter  of  the  Princess  Zebidah. 

Part  III.  Zedekiah  reigns,  about  589  B.  C.  Jehoiakim 
rebelled  and  was  killed.  Jehoiachin  was 
carried  to  Babylon  with  10,000  captives. 
Zedekiah  contemplates  rebellion  to  cast 
off  the  yoke  of  Babylon. 

Chapters  21-23.  Temple  Speech  in  presence  of  king 
and  the  court,  counsels  submission,  declares  the  Lord 
will  fight  against  them,  strong  denunciation  of  social 
wrongs  and  of  the  teachers  of  the  people. 

Chapter  24.  Temple  Speech,  the  cup  of  the  Lord's 
fury,  see  letter  of  the  Princess  Zebidah. 

Chapter  26.  Effect  of  the  Shiloh  speech,  chapters 
7-10. 

Chapters  27,  28.  Street  Speech,  symbol  of  the 
yokes  from  former  speech  repeated,  and  the  results. 

Chapter  29.    A  letter  to  the  captives  in  Babylon. 

Chapters  30-33.  The  speeches  have  been  largely 
denunciations  of  corruption  and  exhortations  to  sub- 
mit to  punishment.     Jeremiah  has  been  thrown  into 


io8  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

prison,  he  now  writes  from  the  prison  a  letter  largely 
of  consolation  to  the  righteous  and  shows  his  faith  in 
God  by  buying  a  field  and  preserving  the  deed.  There 
will  be  prosperity  after  the  captivity. 

Chapters  34-38.  History  before  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem.  The  heartless  reformation,  freeing  the 
slaves,  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  is  raised;  reslaving  their 
brothers,  the  siege  is  renewed.  See  letter  of  Princess 
Zebidah  in  Chapter  VII.    Sketches  of  various  speeches. 

Chapters  39-44.  History  after  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem. 

Chapters  46-52.  Prophecies  against  heathen  na- 
tions, probably  extracts  from  speeches  to  the  people 
of  Judah  showing  God  as  ruling  the  nations  right- 
eously, to  quicken  their  faith  in  him  during  their  own 
sufferings,  and  to  call  for  righteous  living. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  STORY  OF  TWO  ORATIONS  TO  THE 
CAPTIVES  IN  BABYLON,  BY  EZEKIEL 

A  Letter  from  the  Captive  Prince  Azariah  to 
His  Wife,  Princess  Zebidah,  in  Jerusalem 

My  life  still  flows  on  in  peace  and  luxury.  Istaroch, 
the  prince  of  the  wise-men  treats  me  more  as  a  friend 
than  as  a  captive;  I  have  charge  of  his  large  library 
and  he  makes  me  his  companion  in  his  studies.  He 
seems  to  be  specially  grateful  to  me  as  worshipping  the 
God  who  through  Daniel  saved  the  lives  of  the  wise- 
men  as  I  wrote  you  several  years  ago.  I  wrote  you 
also  more  recently  of  the  brave  stand  made  by  the 
three  young  men,  princes,  companions  of  Daniel  in  the 
court  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  when  they  refused  to  wor- 
ship the  great  image  of  gold  that  the  king  had  had 
set  up  on  the  plain  north  of  the  city,  and  how  they 
had  been  delivered  from  the  fiery  furnace  into  which 
they  had  been  cast,  and  how  the  king  had  frankly  and 
publicly  acknowledged  the  deliverance  could  only  have 
been  wrought  by  the  God  of  the  captives. 

The  Babylonians  while  brave  warriors  are  also 
generous  masters,  they  admire  bravery  in  others  and 
are  considerate  in  their  treatment  of  such  captives; 
besides,  the  stupendous  power  of  our  God  which  they 
witnessed  in  saving  their  own  wise-men  and  in  saving 
these  his  own  loyal  worshippers,  has  made  a  great 

109 


no  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

impression  upon  them.  There  must  be  over  a  thousand 
of  our  captives  in  the  city,  some  are  in  the  palaces  of 
the  rich,  many  whose  wives  have  been  brought  with 
them  have  homes  of  their  own,  all  are  engaged  in 
useful  employments,  in  beautifying  the  magnificent 
city,  in  strengthening  its  walls,  and  in  business  of 
various  kinds.  We  would  hardly  know  we  were  cap- 
tives, would  imagine  we  were  voluntary  colonists,  only 
that  those  who  have  sought  to  get  away  have  been 
turned  back  with  some  severity.  We  are  free  to  pass 
about  in  the  city  and  we  even  have  the  privilege  of 
assembling  together  in  social  enjoyment  and  in  the 
worship  of  our  God.  At  one  of  these  assemblies  when 
I  was  present  on  a  Sabbath  several  weeks  ago,  a 
strange  message  came  to  us,  from  one  who  had  heard 
him  speak,  that  there  was  a  prophet  of  God  among 
the  captives  settled  some  two  hundred  miles  north  of 
the  city.  There  was  at  once  awakened  in  us  a  great 
desire  to  hear  what  God  had  revealed  to  him  con- 
cerning our  future  and  the  future  of  Jerusalem.  Dur- 
ing the  next  few  days  it  was  arranged  that  at  least 
twenty  representative  men  should  appeal  for  permis- 
sion to  visit  this  prophet.  I  was  among  those  chosen 
and  I  secured  the  influence  of  Daniel,  the  Governor 
of  the  Province,  who  gained  from  Nebuchadnezzar  the 
permission  we  desired,  as  he  is  ever  ready  to  grant 
reasonable  favors  to  those  who  worship  the  God  who 
had  revealed  to  him  in  his  strange  dream  that  he 
would  establish  him  as  the  ruler  of  the  kingdoms  of 
the  earth. 

We  sailed  up  the  Euphrates  on  one  of  the  many 
vessels  that  ply  upon  the  great  river,  a  fair  and  com- 


EZEKIEL  III 

modious  ship,  and  the  voyage  was  pleasant.  The 
vessel  had  two  large  sails  and  fifty  oars,  the  oars  were 
kept  going  during  the  daylight  by  able-bodied  slaves, 
even  when  there  was  no  favoring  wind  we  made  some 
progress  against  the  heavy  though  sluggish  current; 
but  when,  as  was  often  the  case,  a  strong  wind  blew 
from  the  south,  with  both  oars  and  sails  we  passed 
many  miles  quite  rapidly.  We  landed  at  several  flour- 
ishing towns  on  the  way,  leaving  some  passengers 
and  receiving  others;  among  those  joining  us  were 
several  delegations  of  our  fellow-captives  from  various 
colonies  on  the  same  mission  with  us  to  consult  the 
prophet  of  God,  and  they  told  us  they  had  heard  of 
the  wonderful  visions  he  had  and  of  the  vivid  way  he 
used,  by  significant  acts,  to  reveal  the  purposes  of 
God,  so  our  eagerness  to  see  and  hear  him  was  greatly 
quickened. 

On  the  fifth  day  we  reached  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Chebar,  here  we  saw  one  of  the  vast  works  of  King 
Nebuchadnezzar  for  the  improvement  of  his  kingdom. 
The  river  flows  from  the  high  table-land  and  the 
great  mountains  several  hundred  miles  away  but  as 
it  nears  the  Euphrates  it  becomes  sluggish  and  winds 
about  a  great  deal,  tnostly  to  the  north,  and  it  becomes 
quite  wide  and  too  shallow  for  such  large  vessels  as 
ours  to  sail  upon  it.  So  Nebuchadnezzar  has  cut  a 
canal  some  ten  miles  long  straight  from  the  Euphrates 
to  the  place  where  the  Chebar  is  narrow  and  deep 
where  large  gates  open  for  the  vessels  to  pass  into  the 
river  and  close  again  to  keep  the  river  from  rushing 
into  the  canal.  At  this  entrance  into  the  Chebar  there 
is  a  flourishing  town,  largely  composed  of  a  colony 


112  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

of  our  captives  who  are  engaged  in  keeping  the  canal 
in  good  condition;  and  here  our  voyage  ended,  for 
among  these  captives  v^as  the  prophet,  Ezekiel,  whom 
we  sought.  We  were  very  fortunate  to  reach  there 
at  about  the  same  time  as  several  delegations  from 
colonies  of  captives  further  up  the  river  so  there  must 
have  been  over  a  hundred  men,  elders  and  leaders  of 
our  people,  who  appealed  to  Ezekiel  to  give  them  a 
message  from  the  Lord,  our  God.  He  responded  that 
he  would  pray  unto  the  Lord  and  if  he  had  any  mes- 
sage from  him,  he  would  speak  to  us  at  the  place  of 
assembly  early  the  next  morning. 

When  the  morning  came,  many  of  his  own  colony 
gathered  with  the  delegates  to  wait  upon  Ezekiel. 
When  he  came  out  of  his  house  it  was  quite  evident 
to  us  all,  from  his  rapt  gaze,  that  he  had  had  a  vision 
of  the  Lord;  and  when  he  spoke  to  us,  the  tones  of 
his  voice  expressed  the  awe  of  his  soul  and  fore- 
warned us  that  the  message  he  bore  was  one  of  deep 
distress.  He  described  the  strange  vision  in  which 
God  appeared  to  him,*  a  vision  full  of  colossal  figures 
and  vast  power  and  great  mystery:  whirling  wheels 
and  strange  creatures  upholding  a  vast  platform  and 
moving  rapidly,  upon  this  platform  was  a  great  throne 
carried  along  by  the  wheels  and  the  creatures,  and 
upon  the  throne,  a  man  of  most  majestic  mien;  the 
whole  vision  shone  with  brightness  of  the  color  of 
amber,  the  man  on  the  throne  had  the  appearance  of 
fire.  This  vision  of  God  came  to  Ezekiel  and  put 
forth  a  hand  and  lifted  him  up  and  carried  him,  in  an 
instant  of  time,  to  far-off  Jerusalem  and  placed  him 

*  Ezekiel,  8th,  9th,  lOth,  and  i  ith  chapters. 


EZEKIEL 


113 


in  the  court  of  the  temple.  The  vision  of  God  now 
took  possession  of  the  Holy  of  Holies  of  the  temple, 
filling  it  with  such  wonderful  light  that  it  made  its 
walls  luminous  to  those  who  gazed  upon  them;  and 
from  this  place  a  voice  directed  Ezekiel  to  observe 
the  temple  in  its  various  parts  and  the  doings  of  the 
priests  and  the  worshippers.  Looking  toward  the 
northern  court  Ezekiel  saw  there  the  great  image  of 
the  goddess  of  sensual  beauty  and  passion  and  its 
worshippers  bowing  down  before  it;  coming  into  the 
temple  itself,  he  saw  many  chambers  filled  with  the 
images  of  creeping  things  and  abominable  beasts,  and 
the  leaders  of  the  people  worshipping  and  burning 
incense  to  them;  coming  again  into  the  court  of  the 
temple,  he  saw  even  the  women  of  the  city  worshipping 
the  image  of  the  god  of  lust;  looking  now  toward  the 
east,  he  saw  many  men  standing  with  their  backs  to 
the  temple  and  stretching  out  their  hands  in  worship  of 
the  sun  and  the  queen  of  heaven :  all  these  varied 
worshippers  of  idols  were  saying  in  their  hearts  "The 
Lord  hath  forsaken  the  earth,  the  Lord  seeth  us  not." 
They  had  filled  the  land  with  violence  and  so  turned 
to  worship  abominations  and  to  turn  up  the  nose  in 
scorn  at  their  righteous  Lord  who  had  forsaken  the 
earth. 

The  Lord  now  described  to  Ezekiel  how  he  would 
set  a  mark  upon  the  foreheads  of  those  who  were  his 
faithful  followers  and  who  mourned  over  the  abomina- 
tions prevailing  in  life  and  worship;  and  how,  when 
the  sentence  of  death  and  destruction  was  being  car- 
ried out,  these  faithful  ones  would  be  saved  alive; 
and  how  the  Lord  would  select  also  from  the  children 


114  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

of  the  captivity  his  faithful  ones  and  "these  all  shall 
be  my  people  and  I  will  be  their  God."  In  the  most 
vivid  and  thrilling  way  Ezekiel  now  described  to  us 
what  had  filled  him  with  awe  and  great  distress  and 
it  showed  us  as  it  had  showed  him  that  Jerusalem 
would  be  utterly  destroyed  and  left  desolate.  While 
Ezekiel  gazed  upon  the  Holy  of  Holies,  made  luminous 
by  the  presence  of  the  Lord  in  the  wonderful  vision 
of  the  whirling  wheels  and  the  strange  creatures  bear- 
ing up  the  great  throne  and  the  man  of  fire  who  sat 
upon  it,  this  wonderful  vision  left  the  Holy  of  Holies 
and  stood  over  its  threshold  and  the  deserted  Holy  of 
Holies  became  dark.  A  long  time  elapsed  as  Ezekiel 
followed  the  directions  given  him  and  saw  the  great 
abominations  polluting  the  temple.  Now  as  he  looked 
again,  the  vision  of  the  glory  of  God  rose  above  the 
temple  and  slowly  and  reluctantly  left  the  temple  itself 
and  stood  over  its  eastern  threshold ;  and  the  deserted 
temple  became  dark.  A  long  time  elapsed  as  Ezekiel 
heard  the  messages  of  stern  justice  and  loving  mercy, 
dooming  the  city  and  its  wicked  people  to  destruction 
and  promising  safety  and  blessing  to  the  faithful 
people  of  the  Lord.  Now  as  Ezekiel  gazed  upon  the 
wonderful  vision  of  the  glory  of  God,  it  slowly  and 
reluctantly  left  the  temple  and  even  the  city  itself  and 
stood  over  the  eastern  threshold  or  gate  of  the  city. 
Ezekiel  fell  on  his  face  and  cried  unto  the  Lord  to 
spare  the  residue  of  the  people  in  pouring  out  his  fury 
upon  Jerusalem.  The  Lord  answered  him  "The  in- 
iquity of  the  people  is  great,  the  land  is  full  of  blood, 
the  city  is  full  of  perverseness ;  they  say  the  Lord 
seeth  not,  the  Lord  hath  forsaken  the  earth;  I  will 


EZEKIEL  115 

bring  their  saying  upon  their  head:  I  cannot  endure 
their  perverseness,  I  will  leave  them  to  themselves." 
Again  Ezekiel  gazed  upon  the  wonderful  vision;  the 
strange  creatures  lifted  up  their  wings,  the  whirling 
wheels  passed  on  their  way,  and  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  slowly,  as  if  with  the  greatest  reluctance,  left 
the  city  and  stood  upon  the  mountain  which  is  on  the 
east  side  of  the  city.  But  it  did  not  tarry  there  long, 
for  as  he  gazed,  the  mysterious  hand  reached  out  again 
and  caught  up  Ezekiel  and  brought  him  back  in  an 
instant  of  time  to  his  home  among  the  captives  in 
Chaldea;  and  then  the  vision  itself  went  up  from  him. 

This  was  the  strange  and  awful  message  Ezekiel 
gave  us  from  the  Lord.  The  Lord  has  left  his  temple, 
has  left  his  city,  has  left  his  land;  and  destruction, 
the  most  terrible  and  complete,  awaits  those  he  has 
deserted  to  their  fate.  Oh,  my  beloved,  I  know  you 
and  our  children  are  safe,  for  I  know  that  you  have 
upon  your  foreheads  and  in  your  hearts  the  marks 
God  sees  of  loyalty  to  him  and  so  you  are  under  his 
loving,  protecting  care.  You  may  be  assured  also  that 
the  Lord  will  care  for  me  in  this  far-off  land  of  my 
captivity,  for  I  too,  with  many  others  here,  turn  with 
loathing  from  the  corrupting  worship  of  false  gods 
and  with  my  whole  heart  I  cleave  to  our  righteous 
Lord. 

The  next  day  the  various  delegations  returned  to 
their  homes  to  report  to  their  fellow-captives  the 
message  Ezekiel  had  given  them  from  the  Lord.  Our 
sail  down  the  great  river,  while  swift  was  very  de- 
pressing; all  the  stir  of  the  river-life,  the  many  vessels 
of  pleasure  with  music  and  dancing,  the  many  great 


ii6  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

vessels  of  rich  merchandise  and  eager  travellers,  the 
many  large  towns  and  cities  we  passed  could  not 
draw  our  thoughts  away  from  the  sad  message  we  were 
bearing  to  our  fellow-captives :  that  our  captivity  must 
continue  a  long  time  and  that  our  beloved  city,  fair 
Jerusalem,  beautiful  for  situation  among  the  moun- 
tains, and  the  great  Temple  of  Solomon,  the  pride 
of  our  nation,  the  palace  of  our  God,  were  doomed 
to  awful  destruction. 

When  we  made  our  report  to  the  assembly  of  our 
captives  in  Babylon,  the  great  oration  of  Ezekiel  had 
the  same  effect  upon  them  that  it  had  had  upon  us. 
The  mysterious  vision  of  the  glory  of  God,  the  great 
corruption  found  even  in  the  temple  itself,  the  denun- 
ciation of  impending  ruin,  the  slow,  the  reluctant,  the 
final  and  complete  removal  of  God  from  his  temple, 
his  city  and  his  land,  leaving  it  to  its  terrible  destruc- 
tion, filled  all  souls  with  dismay.  While  many  cried 
aloud  in  their  agony  and  tore  their  garments  in  their 
distress,  for  the  most  part  of  the  people  their  dis- 
appointment and  despair  were  too  deep  for  utterance. 
Our  captivity  has  already  stretched  along  for  many, 
many  years  but  we  had  thought  it  would  soon  end  and 
we  would  be  restored  to  our  own  land ;  Jerusalem  still 
flourished,  the  glorious  temple  still  existed,  God  would 
preserve  them  and  restore  us  to  them.  But  now  the 
message  from  God  told  us  they  would  soon  be  de- 
stroyed. Our  hopes  were  all  shattered,  we  would 
never  see  our  native  land  again. 

This  morning  I  waited  upon  Daniel  in  his  palace 
and  told  him  the  result  of  our  visit  to  the  prophet, 
Ezekiel;  he,  too,  was  greatly  depressed  by  it,  for  it 


EZEKIEL  117 

confirmed  him  in  his  fears ;  he,  too,  had  hoped  against 
fear  for  the  speedy  restoration  from  captivity.  Daniel 
then  told  me  that  news  had  reached  them  that  Zedekiah 
had  rebelled  against  Babylon.  He  said  also  that 
Nebuchadnezzar  had  ordered  the  gathering  of  a  great 
army  near  Tyre  and  that  he  was  making  preparations 
to  lead  it  himself,  to  lay  siege  to  Jerusalem.  He  is 
very  rapid  and  decided  in  carrying  out  his  plans  when 
once  made,  but  I  hope  this  letter,  by  my  special  mes- 
senger, will  reach  you  before  the  beginning  of  the 
siege  that  the  great  king  has  decreed. 

Letter  from  the  Princess  Zebidah  to  Her 

Husband^  Prince  Azariah^  a  Captive 

IN  Babylon 

Oh,  my  beloved,  shall  I  ever  see  you  again?  The 
terrible  blow  has  fallen.  The  land  is  desolate,  Jeru- 
salem has  been  captured  and  destroyed.  The  temple 
of  our  God  has  been  burned  with  fire.  I  entreated  to 
be  taken  with  the  multitude  of  captives  to  Babylon, 
hoping  I  might  meet  you  there  but  I  and  all  my  family 
were  of  the  party  of  Jeremiah  and  we  must  share  his 
fate.  How  strange  it  is  that  our  loyalty  to  God  and 
his  prophet,  and  Nebuchadnezzar's  favor  to  Jeremiah 
should  have  brought  this  further  distress  upon  us! 
You  must  trust  me,  oh  my  beloved,  though  it  is  hard 
to  explain  even  to  myself,  how  I  with  your  brave  boys, 
should  at  this  moment  be  flying  into  Egypt  when  if  I 
could  have  had  my  way  we  would  be  coming  toward 
you  in  Babylon.  What  will  you  think  of  me  should 
you  never  receive  this  letter :  but  God  will  bring  it  to 
you  I  am  sure. 


ii8  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

The  siege  was  long,  nearly  three  years,  for  our  king 
fought  bravely  and  skilfully  against  the  great  army 
of  Nebuchadnezzar.  Toward  the  last  there  was  great 
distress  in  the  city,  for  food  and  even  water  became 
very  scarce ;  and  nearly  every  family  was  either  mourn- 
ing some  brave  soldier  killed  in  battle  or  nursing  a 
wounded  member  nigh  unto  death.  During  most  of 
this  time  Jeremiah  was  in  prison.  Once  when  he  was 
released  for  a  few  weeks,  he  made  a  great  speech  in 
the  temple-court  and  a  few  days  after  it  Nebuchad- 
nezzar and  his  army  raised  the  siege  and  marched 
away;  and  it  seemed  as  if  all  danger  was  passed. 
Jeremiah's  speech"^  was  a  rebuke  to  the  princes  and  the 
rich  people  for  having  treated  their  poor  brethren  as 
slaves ;  he  asked,  how  can  you  expect  God  to  help  you 
against  your  enemies  when  you  are  in  the  very  act 
of  disobeying  him  who  commanded  you  to  love  your 
brother  as  yourself  and  to  be  especially  kind  to  those 
in  greatest  need?  It  is  for  this  one  reason  at  least, 
because  you  are  cruel  and  oppress  your  brethren  in 
hard  slavery,  that  God  has  brought  this  distress  upon 
you.  The  plea  was  so  strong  that  it  reached  the  con- 
science :  the  next  day  the  edict  went  forth  that  all  the 
slaves  should  go  free,  and  it  was  gladly  obeyed,  and 
there  was  much  joy  in  the  city  both  among  the  rich 
and  the  poor.  That  very  day  we  noticed  an  unusual 
stir  in  the  camps  of  the  army  surrounding  the  city; 
we  expected  a  renewed  assault  and  with  renewed 
courage  prepared  to  resist  it.  But  to  our  wonder, 
Nebuchadnezzar  and  his  whole  army  marched  away 
to  the  west.     We  sent  scouts  after  them  who,  in  a 

•  Jeremiah  34th  chapter. 


EZEKIEL  119 

few  days  came  back  with  the  report  that,  reaching  the 
plain  by  the  great  sea,  they  had  turned  to  the  south 
and  passed  entirely  beyond  our  borders.  What  joy 
filled  the  city!  The  Lord  had  delivered  us,  and  our 
fierce  and  powerful  enemy  had  vanished  away.  Soon 
vast  supplies  came  into  the  city  from  the  north  and 
from  the  east  and  prosperity  began  to  fill  our  homes 
and  streets  and  our  hardships  and  fears  were  quickly 
forgotten.  Now  also  the  princes  and  rich  people  began 
again  to  treat  as  slaves  their  poor  brethren  who  as 
hired  servants  ministered  to  them  in  their  palaces: 
and  after  a  few  weeks  an  edict  was  made  by  the  king 
revoking  the  former  edict  and  sanctioning  and  re- 
establishing slavery. 

Then  Jeremiah  made  another  speech  in  the  temple- 
court  indignantly  denouncing  the  renewed  sin:  "Ye 
have  profaned  my  name,  saith  the  Lord,  ye  have  not 
hearkened  unto  me  to  proclaim  liberty  every  man  to 
his  brother ;  behold,  now,  I  proclaim  unto  you  a  liberty 
to  the  sword,  to  the  pestilence,  and  to  the  famine. 
Behold  Zedekiah  and  ye  princes  and  all  ye  people,  I 
will  call  again  the  king  of  Babylon  and  his  army  to 
return  to  this  city,  and  they  shall  fight  against  it  and 
take  it  and  burn  it  with  fire  and  I  will  make  the  cities 
of  Judah  a  desolation  without  inhabitant."  When  we 
awoke  the  next  morning  the  van  of  Babylon's  army 
was  seen  upon  the  hills  toward  the  sea  and  soon  the 
great  army  surrounded  the  city  again,  the  siege  was 
renewed  in  all  its  vigor.  We  soon  learned  that  Nebu- 
chadnezzar had  heard  that  Egypt  was  advancing  to 
aid  us,  and  he  had  met  them  and  driven  them  back: 
so  quickly  our  hollow-hearted  repentance  and  our  reli- 


I20  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

ance  upon  our  heathen  ally  were  proved  utterly  vain, 
as  our  prophet  had  frequently  declared. 

Many  in  their  aroused  anger  wanted  to  kill  Jere- 
miah, but  his  life  was  preserved,  though  he  was  put 
back  into  prison.  From  his  prison  he  sent  many 
messages  counseling  submission  to  Babylon.  Once  he 
was  brought,  by  order  of  Zedekiah  into  his  presence, 
when  he  exhorted  the  king  to  cease  his  rebellion  and 
promised  him  the  Lord  would  save  his  life  and  his 
throne:  while  if  he  continued  the  war  all  would  be 
lost.  From  the  prison  he  also  sent  many  messages  of 
great  cheer  to  the  loyal  servants  of  God,  that  he 
would  spare  them,  that  he  would  eventually  bring 
back  the  captivity,  that  Jerusalem  would  then  be  called 
the  habitation  of  justice,  the  mountain  of  holiness, 
that  God  would  write  his  law  in  the  hearts  of  his 
people  and  great  proseprity  would  prevail.  He  showed 
his  own  faith  in  this  glorious  future  by  buying  a  farm 
near  the  city  at  a  great  price  and  having  the  deed 
preserved  in  a  stone  vessel  and  hid  in  a  secure  place 
that  his  descendants  might  enjoy  the  farm  after  the 
troublous  times  were  past. 

So  the  weary,  heavy  days  of  the  siege  passed  on,  all 
hope  of  relief  from  Egypt  failed,  our  own  forces 
became  weak  and  discouraged,  famine  and  pestilence 
filled  us  with  despair.  Then  came  the  end;  the  walls 
were  broken  down  and  the  fierce  soldiers  entered  the 
city.  Zedekiah  and  his  army  fled  but  were  captured 
and  brought  back  and  treated  with  great  cruelty.  We 
were  in  the  hands  of  our  foes  who  were  enraged  at 
our  stubborn  resistance,  and  they  visited  their  ven- 
geance in  the  destruction  of  the  city.     The  temple 


EZEKIEL  121 

of  our  God  was  despoiled  of  all  its  treasures  and  was 
burned  with  fire- 
But  Jeremiah  and  those  who  were  of  his  party  were 
treated  with  much  favor.  Nebuchadnezzar  believed 
our  God  had  made  him  king  of  the  whole  earth  ac- 
cording to  the  dream  Daniel  had  revealed  to  him,  as 
you  wrote  me  a  few  years  ago ;  and  he  had  heard  that 
Jeremiah  was  the  prophet  of  God  who  had  counseled 
submission  to  Babylon.  So  he  selected  from  the  party 
of  Jeremiah  my  father's  brother,  Gedaliah,  and  made 
him  the  governor  of  the  land.  He  offered  Jeremiah 
and  his  friends  freedom  under  the  rule  of  Babylon 
and  that  they  could  choose  where  they  would  live, 
here  or  anywhere  in  the  kingdom  or  even  in  Babylon 
itself.  Then  I  plead  with  my  uncle,  the  governor 
and  with  Jeremiah  that  I,  at  least,  with  your  boys, 
might  go  with  the  captives,  but  in  vain;  Jeremiah 
decided  to  remain  in  Judah  and  was  unwilling  to  risk 
our  welfare  in  the  long  journey  with  the  depressed 
captives  and  their  cruel  and  enraged  captors.  So  we 
remained  at  Mizpah,  and  my  heart  failed  me  as  I  saw 
the  long  line  of  captives  and  their  fierce  masters  set 
out  on  their  weary  and  dangerous  journey  to  Babylon. 
For  a  while  all  went  well  at  Mizpah.  Then  certain 
princes  who  had  lived,  during  the  war,  in  Ammon  and 
Moab  and  who  had  been  welcomed  upon  their  return 
by  Gedaliah,  the  Governor,  slew  him  thinking  to  rule 
in  his  place.  They  were  soon  overthrown  and  driven 
back  to  Ammon.  But  now  most  of  our  leaders  were 
seized  with  fear  that  Babylon  would  count  them  re- 
sponsible for  the  murder  of  the  governor  and  for  the 
disorder,  and  in  their  panic  they  made  ready  to  fly 


122  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

into  Egypt.  They  consulted  Jeremiah  who  strongly 
advised  against  it,  but  in  vain.  So  we  are  now  on  our 
flight  into  Egypt  and  Jeremiah  is  with  us.  Oh,  my 
beloved,  would  that  I  could  have  gone  with  the  cap- 
tives to  Babylon,  I  might  have  reached  that  city,  I 
might  have  met  you,  at  any  rate  been  in  the  same  city 
with  you.  What  will  befall  us  in  Egypt  who  can  tell? 
Jeremiah  is  with  us  and  he  is  the  prophet  of  our  God. 
He  says  Nebuchadnezzar  will  attack  and  conquer 
Egypt ;  perhaps  when  he  raises  his  army  he  may  bring 
you  with  him,  then  we  may  be  united  again  in  Egypt. 
But  whether  we  ever  meet  again  or  no,  we  are  both 
under  the  care  of  the  God  whom  we  adore.  He 
knows  his  name  is  on  our  foreheads  as  Ezekiel  says 
and  he  will  preserve  us  as  he  has  done  so  far  through 
all  these  troubles. 

Letter  from  the  Captive,  Prince  Azariah,  to 

His  Wife,  the  Princess  Zebidah,  a 

Fugitive  in  Egypt 

My  heart  has  been  filled  with  the  greatest  anxiety 
for  you,  oh  my  beloved,  day  and  night  since  we  heard 
of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  But  I  am  not  in 
despair  for  I  rely  upon  the  promise  given  us  from 
God  by  Ezekiel  that  he  would  place  his  name  upon 
the  foreheads  of  his  devoted  followers  and  would 
save  them  when  Jerusalem  should  be  destroyed,  and 
I  know  you  and  the  boys  are  loyal  to  God.  You  can 
only  faintly  imagine  the  despair  that  fell  upon  the 
captives  in  Babylon  when  the  messenger  from  the 
king  published  through  the  city  that  Jerusalem  had 
not  only  been  captured  but  entirely  destroyed  and 


EZEKIEL  123 

that  Solomon's  Temple  had  been  burned  to  the  gromid. 
Many  of  us  have  been  captives  for  over  eleven  long 
weary  years;  during  all  these  years  we  have  known 
that  Jerusalem  still  existed  and  that  the  temple-wor- 
ship of  our  great  God  was  being  observed;  God,  too, 
had  revealed  his  presence  and  power  here,  both  to 
the  Babylonians  and  to  us,  in  marvelous  ways  through 
Daniel  and  his  companions.  It  was  natural  for  us  to 
hope  that  God  would  soon  bring  us  back  to  our  home- 
land and  that  then  our  hard  exile  would  be  only  a 
hideous  memory. 

True,  Ezekiel's  great  oration,  of  which  I  wrote  you, 
warned  us  that  God  had  left  our  city  and  land  to  its 
destruction,  but  we  could  hardly  believe  it  possible. 
We  knew  that  Nebuchadnezzar  was  again  besieging  the 
city,  but  we  had  learned  to  admire  him  for  his  vast 
ability,  his  great  statesmanship  and  his  sense  of  right- 
eousness. Had  not  our  God  greatly  favored  him? 
Had  he  not  frankly  acknowledged  our  God's  existence  ? 
And  we  thought  he  would  probably  capture  the  city 
and  restore  his  government  over  it  but  we  never 
dreamed  he  would  utterly  destroy  it. 

In  a  few  months  after  this  news,  the  first  detach- 
ment of  the  victorious  army  returned  to  Babylon  and 
brought  many  captives.  What  was  my  surprise  to  dis- 
cover my  brother  Shealtiel  among  these  captives.  I 
soon  learned  to  what  part  of  the  city  he  had  been 
assigned  and,  as  I  was  free  to  go  wherever  I  chose, 
I  soon  visited  him ;  and  through  Daniel  I  have  secured 
him  a  better  situation.  He  told  me  of  the  great  hard- 
ships he  had  endured  in  the  long  march  and  that 
many  captives  had  fallen  by  the  way.    He  told  me  also 


134  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

that  your  uncle  Gedaliah  had  been  made  governor  of 
Judea  and  that  you  and  the  boys  were  with  him  at 
Mizpah,  so  my  anxiety  for  you  has  been  greatly 
relieved. 

Recently  our  hopes  have  been  revived  by  another 
message  from  God  by  his  prophet  Ezekiel  and  I 
hasten  to  write  to  you  that  you  and  the  people  with 
you  may  take  new  courage  and  be  of  good  cheer  in 
your  desolate  land.  Our  captives  here  in  Babylon 
soon  thought,  in  the  depths  of  their  despair,  of  send- 
ing another  delegation  to  consult  Ezekiel,  perhaps 
God  would  give  us  some  direction  of  present  duty 
through  him;  I  was  a  member  of  this  delegation  as  of 
the  first;  and  again  I  succeeded,  through  the  influence 
of  Daniel,  in  gaining  permission  for  the  long  journey. 
Again  we  sailed  up  the  great  river  Euphrates  and 
through  the  great  canal  of  Nebuchadnezzar  to  Chebar, 
this  time  with  heavier  hearts  than  on  our  first  voyage 
but  with  stronger  faith  in  the  prophet,  for  had  he  not 
then  foretold  to  us  the  great  disaster  which  had  now 
cast  its  heavy  burden  of  despair  upon  us? 

We  found  that  Ezekiel  had  become  a  great  man 
in  Chebar  during  the  past  three  years,  he  was  the 
chief  man  in  the  care  of  the  canal  and  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  low  lands  through  which  the  river  wound 
to  pour  its  waters  into  the  Euphrates,  and  his  skill 
had  now  won  him  honor  and  wealth.  Upon  his  ap- 
pointment we,  and  the  delegates  from  other  colonies 
of  captives,  and  many  of  his  neighbors,  gathered  at 
his  residence  in  the  early  morning.  There  were  nearly 
five  hundred  men  seated  on  the  grass  when  Ezekiel 
came  out  of  his  door,  we  rose  to  receive  him  and  he. 


EZEKIEL  125 

standing  on  his  porch,  gave  us  the  message  God  had 
given  him.  There  was  the  rapture  of  joy  in  his  eyes 
and  upon  his  face  which  awakened  hope  in  us  before 
he  spoke,  and  then  his  rich  and  far-carrying  voice 
thrilled  us  with  its  tone  of  triumph,  his  action  too 
was  vigorous  and  enthusiastic:  it  did  not  seem  like  a 
captive  addressing  a  band  of  captives,  rather  like  a 
victorious  general  proclaiming  his  purpose  of  con- 
quest to  his  brave  army.  His  great  oration"^  conveyed 
his  hopes  and  feelings,  his  wonderful  faith  and  purpose 
to  our  souls  and  has  become  a  part  of  our  nature, 
written  on  our  memory  and  treasured  in  our  hearts. 

God's  glory  still  appeared  to  Ezekiel  in  the  mys- 
terious vision  of  whirling  wheels  and  strange  creatures 
carrying  a  flaming  platform  and  a  glowing  throne 
upon  which  was  seated  a  man  of  flashing  fire. 

God  had  so  manifested  his  presence  in  his  land  that 
there  had  been  a  great  shaking  in  the  land :  the  fishes 
of  the  sea,  the  fowls  of  the  heavens,  the  beasts  of  the 
field,  all  creeping  things,  and  all  the  men  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  had  been  shaken  by  his  presence;  the 
mountains  and  the  steep  places  had  been  thrown  down 
and  every  wall  had  fallen  to  the  ground  before  the 
glorious  presence  of  the  righteous  God  judging  the 
people.  So  he  pictured  to  us  how  God  had  shaken 
out  of  his  land  not  only  his  own  faithless  and  dis- 
obedient people  but  their  enemies  as  well,  whom  he 
had  brought  in  to  be  his  chastising  rod  and  who, 
having  accomplished  his  purpose,  had  now  themselves 
been  shaken  out  of  the  land.  But  Ezekiel  spoke  not 
only  of  judgment  but,  with  a  great  note  of  triumph 

*  Ezekiel,  chapters  36-43. 


126  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

in  his  voice,  he  described  God  as  speaking  from  his 
glory  to  the  mountains  of  Israel.  "Ye  have  borne 
shame  but  now,  O  mountains  of  Israel,  ye  shall  shoot 
forth  your  branches  and  yield  your  fruit  to  my  people 
Israel;  for  they  are  at  hand  to  come.  I  will  turn 
unto  you  and  ye  shall  be  tilled  and  sown.  I  will 
multiply  men  upon  you  even  the  house  of  Israel,  the 
cities  shall  be  inhabited,  the  waste  places  shall  be 
builded;  and  they  shall  say:  this  land  that  was  deso- 
late is  become  like  the  garden  of  Eden  and  the  waste 
and  desolate  and  ruined  cities  are  fenced  and  in- 
habited; and  they  shall  know  that  I,  the  Lord,  have 
builded  the  ruined  places.  I,  the  Lord,  have  spoken 
it  and  I  will  do  it." 

If  this  had  been  the  whole  of  Ezekiel's  great  oration 
it  would  have  thrilled  us  with  hope  for  some  far, 
future  day  and,  perhaps,  for  our  own  children  but 
would  have  given  us,  poor  captives,  little  hope  for 
ourselves,  for  we  were  hopelessly  in  the  power  of  our 
conquerors.  But  in  one  part  of  his  speech  Ezekiel 
described  our  condition  as  one  of  despair  to  us  but 
not  of  despair  to  our  all-powerful  God.  The  mys- 
terious vision,  the  glorious  power  of  God,  put  forth  a 
hand  and  placed  Ezekiel  in  a  great  valley,  and  behold, 
it  was  full  of  very  dry  bones.  Then  God  spake 
through  Ezekiel  "O  ye  dry  bones,  hear  the  word  of  the 
Lord  and  live,"  and  there  was  a  noise  like  an  earth- 
quake and  the  bones  came  together,  bone  to  his  bone, 
and  there  were  sinews  upon  them  and  flesh  and  skin, 
but  there  was  no  breath  in  them.  Then  God  spake 
through  Ezekiel  *'Come  from  the  four  winds,  O  breath 
and  breathe  upon  these  slain  that  they  may  live"  and 


EZEKIEL  127 

the  breath  came  into  them  and  they  Hved  and  stood 
up  upon  their  feet,  an  exceeding  great  army.  So, 
said  Ezekiel,  God  will  bring  you  out  of  your  captivity 
and  will  bring  you  into  the  land  of  Israel:  "And  ye 
shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord." 

But  even  this  glowing  promise  was  not  the  best 
of  Ezekiel's  message  from  God,  there  was  the  promise 
of  loyal  character  of  the  restored  people  and  of  a 
noble  king  to  rule  over  and  care  for  them.  God  said 
of  the  people  "I  will  cleanse  you  from  all  your  iniquity 
and  from  your  idols,  a  new  heart  will  I  give  you  and 
a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you,  I  will  put  my  spirit 
within  you  and  cause  you  to  walk  in  my  statutes  and 
keep  my  judgments.  Ye  shall  be  my  people  and  I 
will  be  your  God."  He  spoke  also  of  the  new  king. 
God  had  said  that  the  kings  who  had  ruled  had  not 
been  true  shepherds  of  the  people,  had  not  watched 
over  them  and  guarded  them,  had  not  had  their  inter- 
ests at  heart,  but  had  sought  their  own  ease  and 
pleasure.  But  now  God  said  he  would  set  one  to  be 
a  real  shepherd  over  them  "even  my  servant  David, 
a  prince  among  them,  he  shall  feed  them,  my  servant 
David  shall  be  a  king  over  them,  he  shall  be  their 
prince  forever,  and  I  will  make  an  everlasting  covenant 
of  peace  with  them;  I,  the  Lord,  have  spoken  it:  I 
will  do  it.  And  all  the  nations  shall  know  that  I  am 
the  Lord,  the  Holy  One  in  Israel,  for  I  have  poured 
out  my  spirit  upon  the  house  of  Israel."  He  closed 
his  great  oration  by  describing  his  vision  of  the  glory 
of  the  Lord  returning  to  his  land  and  city  and  by  the 
north  gate  into  a  new  Temple,  and  it  filled  the  house 
of  the  Lord. 


128  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

When  Ezekiel  ceased  speaking  we  all  with  one 
accord  fell  upon  our  knees  and  prostrated  ourselves 
before  God  and  worshipped  him  who  had  spoken  to 
us  such  glorious  promises  through  his  prophet. 

Our  return  voyage  was  far  different  in  spirit  from 
the  first :  then  we  had  gone  to  the  prophet  with  great 
hope  and  had  returned  in  heavy  spirits,  this  time  we 
had  gone  to  him  in  deep  despair  but  we  returned  in 
a  joyous  spirit.  As  we  passed  the  vessels  of  pleasure 
upon  the  river,  with  their  songs  and  dancing,  we 
were  singing  our  songs  of  praise.  As  we  passed  the 
fair  cities  and  the  prosperous  country,  we  could  admire 
it  all  while  we  thought  of  our  fairer  land,  a  land  of 
mountains  and  hills,  fruitful,  beautiful,  prosperous, 
as  God  had  promised  us. 

When  we  reached  Babylon  our  report  of  EzekieFs 
message  gave  great  joy  to  our  people.  But  also  there 
had  come,  during  our  absence,  news  that  filled  our 
hearts  with  dismay  and  gave  to  me  renewed  anxiety 
concerning  you,  my  beloved.  We  heard  that  the  new 
governor,  your  uncle  Gedaliah,  had  been  killed  in 
Mizpah  and  that  the  princes  of  his  court,  and  Jere- 
miah with  them,  had  fled  into  Egypt.  I  suppose  you 
and  the  boys  are  with  them  in  a  wild  flight  to  the 
land  of  our  former  slavery.  I  have  just  heard,  through 
Daniel,  that  Nebuchadnezzar  has  resolved  to  raise  a 
large  army  and  march  to  the  conquest  of  Egypt;  he 
also  says  that  Istaroch,  the  wise-man,  has  been  ordered 
to  accompany  Nebuchadnezzar  into  Egypt.  Of  course 
he  will  take  me  with  him  and  so,  my  beloved,  we  may 
meet  again.  Should  we  meet,  even  in  Egypt,  I  am 
sure  we  will  never  be  separated  again. 


EZEKIEL  129 

SUPPLEMENT  TO  CHAPTER  VII 

Book  of  Ezekiel 

Arrangement  in  the  book  of  the  speeches  of  Ezekiel 

Part  I.  Before  the  destruction  of  the  Temple,  about 
595  B.  C.  Ezekiel  was  taken  to  Babylon 
with  the  10,000  captives  and  King  Jehoi- 
achin.  While  King  Zedekiah  reigned  in 
Jerusalem  and  the  Temple  stood  the  cap- 
tives in  Babylon  hoped  to  return.  The 
speeches  of  Ezekiel  were  all  made  in 
Babylon  to  delegations  sent  to  ask  him 
about  this  return. 

Chapters  1-3.  The  call  of  the  prophet.  The  great 
vision  of  the  glory  of  God  gives  him  his  commission. 
From  this  his  reputation  spreads  to  the  various  colonies 
of  captives. 

Chapters  4-7.  The  destruction  of  Jerusalem  de- 
scribed by  symbolical  acts. 

Chapters  8-13.  The  vision  of  the  glory  of  God 
leaving  the  Temple  and  the  land.  See  the  letter  of 
Prince  Azariah. 

Chapters  14-20.  Great  sinfulness  described  and  en- 
forced by  parables  of  the  vine,  the  harlot,  the  eagle, 
and  the  lioness  and  her  whelps. 

Chapters  20-23.  The  time  of  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  is  near,  the  corruption  is  great,  demanding 
it;  the  parable  of  the  two  harlots  illustrates  it. 

Chapter  24.  The  destruction  of  the  Temple  and 
the  city  is  at  hand.  The  parable  of  the  caldron.  The 
prophet  under  great  affliction  restrains  his  feelings,  a 
symbolic  example  to  the  people.  There  is  a  year  of 
silence  between  each  speech  and  now  for  several  years 
Ezekiel  is  dumb,  has  no  message. 


I30  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

Part  II.  Chapters  25-33.  Prophecies  against  heathen 
nations  who  had  rejoiced  in  the  distress 
of  Jerusalem,  extracts  from  former 
speeches.  To  be  specially  noted,  the  de- 
scription of  Tyre  as  a  ship,  27th  chapter, 
and  of  Egypt  as  a  dragon  of  the  river, 
29th  chapter. 

Part  III.  Chapters  3-35.  News  of  the  destruction  of 
the  Temple  unseals  the  lips  of  Ezekiel. 
The  blessings  upon  repentance.  The 
Lord,  the  shepherd  of  his  people,  to 
rescue  the  righteous. 

Chapters  36-43.  The  land  blessed,  the  people  re- 
stored, the  vision  of  the  Lord  returning  to  his  land 
and  the  Temple,  see  letter  of  Prince  Azariah. 

Chapters  44-46.  The  worship  of  the  restored 
people  in  the  land. 

Chapter  47.  The  blessings  flowing  from  the 
Temple  over  the  land  as  a  river. 

Chapter  48.    The  full  restoration,  the  Lord  is  there. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  STORY  OF  TWO  ORATIONS,  BY  HAGGAI 
AND  ZECHARIAH,  DURING  THE  RE- 
BUILDING OF  JERUSALEM 

A  Letter  from  a  Prince  of  Benjamin  to  His 
Sister  Remaining  in  Babylon 

No  one  can  find  the  least  fault  with  you  for  staying 
with  your  husband  and  your  young  children.  We 
remember  the  nobility  of  Prince  Istaroch,  the  wise- 
man  of  the  Chaldeans,  who  fell  in  love  with  you  and 
made  you  his  wife  over  ten  years  ago.  His  father 
had  been  kind  to  the  captive,  Prince  Azariah,  and  made 
him  his  companion  in  his  studies ;  and  had  given  honor 
to  our  great  God  who  had  saved  the  lives  of  the  wise- 
men  by  revealing  to  Daniel  the  dream  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar. We  know  your  husband  too,  honors  our  God 
and  counseled  King  Cyrus  to  issue  the  decree  for  the 
return  of  the  captives  and  the  rebuilding  of  Jerusalem ; 
but  we  could  not  expect  him  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  us ; 
nor  could  we  expect  you  to  leave  him  you  so  deeply 
love  and  your  children  who  must  have  remained  with 
him  in  his  palace.  Still  we  know  your  thoughts  often 
follow  us  in  our  strange  experience. 

I  saw  you  watching  us  and  waving  farewell  to  us 
as  we  marched  through  the  streets  of  Babylon  toward 
the  northern  gate.    Ours  was  a  vast  array  of  perhaps 

131 


132  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

thirty  thousand  men  and  women,  we  had  many  horses 
and  camels  and  rich  belongings.  We  were  in  high 
spirits,  praising  God  with  trumpets  and  songs;  and 
many  cheers  followed  us  from  the  friendly  citizens 
of  the  great  capital.  Was  it  not  wonderful,  to  us  and 
to  them,  that  Cyrus  should  have  decreed  the  return  of 
the  captives  ?  The  hand  of  the  great  God  who  had  in 
many  ways  shown  his  presence  and  power  in  Babylon 
was  evidently  leading  us.  But  there  was  also  a  heavy 
heart  in  many  a  marching  captive,  for  we  were  leaving 
our  birthplace  and  life-long  home-city,  and  were  break- 
ing many  strong  ties  of  family  and  friendship  and 
some  of  us  were  leaving  great  prosperity  which  we 
had  gained  and  which  promised  to  increase. 

As  we  marched  in  easy  stages  on  the  wellmade  roads 
along  the  beautiful  and  fruitful  banks  of  the  river 
Euphrates  we  were  joined  by  large  numbers  of  cap- 
tives from  the  various  flourishing  towns  and  cities  who 
in  their  loyalty  to  our  God  cast  in  their  lot  with  us : 
so  for  many  days  the  triumphant  nature  of  our  jour- 
ney and  the  spirit  of  successful  adventure  cheered  our 
spirits.  Then  followed  weary  weeks  of  many  hard- 
ships and  dangers  which  greatly  depressed  us.  We 
turned  to  the  west  and  soon  entered  a  more  rugged 
country  becoming  at  length  mountainous;  it  was  also 
less  fruitful,  and  sometimes,  for  long  marches,  it  was 
difficult  to  get  sufficient  sustenance ;  and  especially  the 
populace  was  less  friendly  and  frequently  became  hos- 
tile. Sometimes  we  halted  for  days  while  our  leaders, 
with  great  difficulty  persuaded  those  in  power  to  grant 
us  permission  to  pass  through  their  borders.  The 
empire  of  Cyrus  covered  all  our  journey  but  some 


HAGGAI,  ZECHARIAH  133 

fierce  tribes  we  passed  on  the  way  were  restive  under 
his  sway,  and  even  when  their  leaders  permitted  us 
to  pass,  the  people  hung  upon  our  skirts  with  frowns 
and  curses  and  often  with  swift  and  fierce  assaults. 
So  with  danger  and  hardship  the  weary  weeks  passed 
by  and  our  march  was  slow,  we  were  only  protected 
by  the  reluctant  obedience  given  to  a  heathen  king. 
We  could  not  help  contrasting  our  experience  with 
that  of  our  fore-fathers  when  God  brought  them  out 
of  Egypt;  then  there  was  the  terror  of  their  masters 
awakened  by  the  plagues  and  at  length  by  the  over- 
throw of  Pharaoh  and  his  army  in  the  Red  Sea;  then 
God  revealed  his  presence,  and  glory  at  Mount  Sinai, 
and  he  guided  them  through  all  their  journey  by  the 
pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and  of  fire  by  night,  and  pro- 
vided for  all  their  needs  and  defended  them  from  all 
their  foes.  But  with  us  there  was  no  sign  of  God's 
presence,  the  heavens  above  us  were  clear  and  silent; 
we  had  to  find  our  own  way  through  a  strange  land 
and  we  were  defended  from  fierce  foes  only  by  the 
decree  of  a  heathen  king.  Were  we  indeed  under 
the  care  of  our  God  and  were  we  doing  his  will?  We 
believed  it,  but  we  could  not  see  any  sign  of  his  pres- 
ence and  favor,  save  only  that  we  were  on  our  journey 
to  our  homeland  by  the  decree  of  Cyrus,  that  wonder- 
ful decree  which  we  could  account  for  only  by  the 
wisdom  and  power  and  favor  of  our  God. 

When  at  length  we  reached  our  homeland  its  charm 
of  beauty  thrilled  us:  its  grand  mountains  and  hills, 
its  graceful  streams  and  plains,  its  wide  views  of  the 
great  sea  were  as  our  fathers  had  described  them  to 
us;  but  its  great  fruit  fulness  had  been  swept  away  by 


134  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

the  grasping,  greedy  colonists  during  the  seventy  years 
of  their  possession;  and  these  colonists  themselves 
treated  us  as  intruders  upon  what  they  regarded  as 
their  land.  When  at  last  we  reached  Jerusalem  our 
spirits  were  almost  crushed  into  despair.  Was  it  for 
this  we  had  left  our  relatives  and  friends  in  Babylon, 
and  our  prosperity  there  ?  Was  it  for  this  that  we  had 
pressed  our  way  through  the  untold  hardships  and 
dangerous  foes  of  our  long  march?  Jerusalem  was 
still  in  ruins.  The  few  of  our  nation  who  had  re- 
mained when  Nebuchadnezzar  destroyed  the  city,  re- 
garded it  as  forsaken  of  God  and  had  scattered  into 
nearby  or  quite  distant  villages  and  towns. 

The  colonists  from  Babylon  had  regarded  the  city 
of  our  God  as  cursed  by  their  triumphant  gods,  and 
as  Nebuchadnezzar  had  destroyed  it,  they  in  loyalty 
to  him  and  to  their  gods,  left  it  to  its  deserved  desola- 
tion. We  had  reached  the  end  of  our  journey  and  of 
our  self-denial  in  loyalty  to  our  God:  but  where  was 
our  God  ?  No  voice  came  from  the  clear  skies.  There 
was  no  sign  of  his  presence  on  the  mountain-tops. 
And  this  wide  ruin,  these  broken  walls,  these  destroyed 
palaces,  this  burned  temple  seemed  to  say:  He  is  not 
here,  he  has  forsaken  the  place. 

But  we  were  here  with  our  camels  and  horses  and 
large  possessions,  and  we  were  here  by  the  command 
of  Cyrus  and  through  him,  of  our  God;  and  we  were 
to  rebuild  Jerusalem  and  the  temple ;  and,  too  wonder- 
ful to  realize,  we  were  a  vast  number  of  people,  nearly 
fifty  thousand  men  and  women,  less  than  a  year  ago 
we  were  captives  in  far-off  Babylon,  now  we  were  in 
the  land  of  our  fathers  where  they  had  lived  and  wor- 


HAGGAI,  ZECHARIAH  135 

shipped  our  God  through  many  prosperous  genera- 
tions. So  we  soon  began  to  recover  our  faith  and  our 
courage,  though  we  could  not  see  our  God  we  would 
obey  him;  we  would  rebuild  the  city  and  the  temple. 
Then  we  found  that  our  hardships  were  only  begun. 
We  could  build  only  the  rudest  houses  at  first,  mere 
huts  for  shelter  during  the  cold,  rainy  seasons ;  and  we 
could  secure  only  the  barest  sustenance  from  our 
greedy  neighbors.  So  many  weary  months  passed  by. 
We  rebuilt  the  walls  of  the  city  marking  its  former 
boundaries,  though  we  were  small  in  numbers  where 
multitudes  had  formerly  lived ;  we  marked  out,  as  far 
as  we  needed,  the  old  streets  where  palaces  had  stood 
and  began  building  better  houses  for  our  use;  we 
cleared  off  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  Temple  of  its 
desecrated  ruins  and  there  we  reestablished  the  wor- 
ship of  Jehovah.  Our  assemblies  of  the  people  on 
this  mount  of  worship  were  often  joyous  and  we  sang 
aloud  the  praises  of  Jehovah;  sometimes  we  were  de- 
pressed and  we  then  cultured  our  faith  by  recounting 
how  he  had  led  our  fore-fathers  and  how  he  had  freed 
us  from  our  captivity  in  Babylon ;  and  we  sought  help 
from  him  in  carrying  on  the  great  work  he  had  given 
us  to  do. 

Thus  several  years  passed  by  and  still  we  hesitated 
to  build  the  Temple  of  the  Lord.  We  were  not  pros- 
perous enough  to  begin  such  a  great  work;  the  har- 
vests were  poor,  the  land  having  been  so  long  abused 
by  the  grasping  colonists,  and  of  course  Jerusalem 
itself  was  poor,  much  of  the  wealth  we  had  brought 
with  us  had  already  been  used  to  build  our  dwelling- 
houses  ;  and  the  temple,  when  builded,  should  be  splen- 


136  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

did  like  Solomon's  and  worthy  of  the  great  Jehovah; 
surely  we  were  not  able  yet  to  undertake  such  a  build- 
ing. Besides,  the  Babylonian  colonists  were  hostile  to 
our  building  the  city  and  the  temple ;  they  discouraged 
us  in  every  way  and  tried  to  dissuade  and  hinder  us 
and  they  sent  word  to  the  king  who  succeeded  Cyrus 
who  responded  with  a  decree  forbidding  the  further 
building  of  what  they  called  ''the  rebellious  city."  But 
soon  another  king,  finding  the  decree  of  Cyrus,  issued 
a  decree  that  the  city  and  the  temple,  too,  should  be 
rebuilded. 

Then  a  strange  thing  occurred.  There  was  a  great 
assembly  of  the  people  worshipping  Jehovah  on  the 
temple-hill  before  the  altar  we  had  erected  there,  the 
smoke  of  the  evening  sacrifice  was  rising  in  the  air 
and  the  song  of  praise  was  just  ending  when  a  very 
old  man  pressed  forward  and  began  to  speak  to  us.* 
Though  his  age  was  apparent,  his  long  hair  and  long 
beard  as  white  as  the  snow  of  Mount  Hermon,  still 
he  was  a  straight  and  sturdy  man  and  his  voice  had 
its  thunder  tones  as  if  God  was  speaking  through  him. 
We  were  greatly  impressed  by  him  for  it  seemed  to 
us  that  the  spirit  of  the  old  prophets,  who  had  ap- 
pealed to  our  fathers  so  often  and  had  brought  to  them 
messages  from  God,  was  with  us  now  and  had  a  mes- 
sage for  us.  His  was  a  short  oration  but  it  was  a 
very  earnest  one.  "Carefully  consider  your  ways"  he 
urged  us.  "Look  upon  them  as  God  looks  upon  them ; 
ye  have  builded  yourselves  houses  and  ye  dwell  in 
them,  but  ye  have  not  builded  a  house  for  God  to  dwell 
with  you,  his  house  lieth  waste.    Ye  have  indeed  sown 

*  Haggai,  the  whole  book. 


HAGGAI,  ZECHARIAH  137 

much  and  have  brought  in  very  Httle,  ye  eat  but  ye 
have  not  enough.  Why?  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts. 
Because  of  mine  house  that  Heth  waste  while  ye  run 
every  man  to  his  own  house.  Now  consider  your  ways 
saith  the  Lord :  go  up  to  the  mountain  and  bring  wood 
and  build  my  house  and  I  will  take  pleasure  in  it  and 
will  dwell  with  you  and  bless  you." 

His  speech  greatly  influenced  us;  it  was  indeed  a 
call  from  God  himself  to  us  and  we  at  once  resolved 
that  we  would  build  the  temple;  and  while  we  were 
encouraging  each  other  he  vanished  away.  Many  were 
the  inquiries,  as  we  went  down  from  the  hill  to  our 
houses,  as  to  who  he  was  and  where  he  lived;  but 
no  one  could  tell. 

There  followed  busy  weeks  of  great  enthusiasm; 
the  bounds  of  the  temple  were  marked  out,  the  foun- 
dations were  laid,  much  material  of  wood  and  stone 
was  gathered  from  the  mountains;  but  at  length  our 
hearts  began  to  fail  us.  There  were  many  among  us 
who  had  heard  from  our  fathers  of  the  grandeur  of 
Solomon's  Temple  and  there  were  a  few  old  men 
among  us  who  had  seen  that  building,  one  of  the  won- 
ders of  the  world,  with  its  wide  colonnades  of  marble, 
its  roof  of  gold  flashing  in  the  sunlight.  They  all  told 
us  and  we  all  felt  that,  do  the  best  we  could,  our 
temple  would  hardly  be  a  rebuilding,  it  would  be  base 
and  mean  compared  with  the  former  glory.  Then  one 
evening,  after  a  discouraging  day's  work  when  our 
hearts  were  cast  down  within  us  and  our  evening 
worship  itself  had  been  greatly  depressed,  the  old 
prophet  stood  again  before  us. 

There  was  inspiration  in  his  face,  there  was  the 


138  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

ringing  tone  of  triumph  in  his  voice  as  he  brought 
another  message  to  us  from  our  great  Jehovah.  He 
spoke  as  if  he  knew  our  inmost  thoughts.  "Ye  that 
saw  this  house  in  its  former  glory,  how  do  ye  see  it 
now?  It  is  in  your  eyes  as  nothing.  But  not  so  in 
the  eyes  of  your  God.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts : 
be  strong,  oh  governor ;  be  strong,  oh  priest ;  be  strong 
to  build  this  house,  oh  people.  For  the  desirable  of 
all  nations  shall  come  to  this  house.  I  will  fill  this 
house  with  my  glory,  the  latter  glory  of  this  house 
shall  be  greater  than  the  former.  In  this  place  will  I 
give  peace,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts." 

And  again  the  old  prophet  vanished  away.  No  one 
knew  who  he  was,  whence  he  came,  or  whither  he 
went :  but  the  message  he  gave  us  thrilled  us  with  new 
courage.  We  did  not  know  how  it  could  ever  be: 
the  glory  of  this  house  greater  than  that  of  Solomon's 
Temple;  the  desirable  of  all  nations  to  come  here; 
peace,  soundness,  completeness  to  center  here;  the 
glory  of  God  to  dwell  here.  Well  might  we  work  to 
take  part  in  such  far  reaching  plans  of  our  great 
Jehovah. 

Once  again  the  old  prophet  spoke  to  the  people 
building  the  temple.  Once  again  his  great  oration 
carried  us  far  beyond  our  day  and  our  vision  and  gave 
us  a  glimpse  of  Jehovah's  wide  plans.  We  could 
hardly  believe  that  our  poor  work  and  faltering  hearts 
should  be  of  service  to  him  in  his  gracious  purposes 
for  the  whole  earth,  but  so  the  prophet  assured  us. 
"Ye  have  indeed  been  faulty,  even  unclean  in  my 
sight,  and  I  have  seen  your  work  for  yourselves  as 
unclean;  but  now  ye  have  turned  and  ye  are  building 


HAGGAI,  ZECHARIAH  139 

my  house  and  working  with  me,  and  from  this  day  I 
will  bless  you.  And  you,  the  governor  of  my  people 
and  their  leader  in  their  work,  the  little  ruler  of  a 
small  people,  be  not  cast  down;  thus  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  I  will  shake  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  I  will 
overthrow  the  strength  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  nations, 
but  I  will  take  thee,  my  servant  and  will  make  thee 
as  a  signet,  the  sign  of  my  wide-spread  and  everlasting 
rule,  for  I  have  chosen  thee." 

Again  the  old  prophet  vanished  from  our  sight,  and 
we  never  saw  him  again.  We  have  since  discovered 
that  he  was  of  the  few  great  men,  the  true  servants 
of  God  who  remained  in  this  land  when  Nebuchadnez- 
zar destroyed  the  temple  and  carried  the  last  captives 
to  Babylon.  His  name  was  Haggai  and  he  had  lived, 
with  a  few  friends  on  the  mountain  east  of  Jerusalem, 
a  life  of  meditation  and  of  waiting  for  the  promised 
restoration;  and  that  these  three  times  he  had  felt 
impelled  to  bear  his  message  from  God  to  his  dis- 
couraged people.  Upon  his  return  from  the  last  mis- 
sion he  had  died  and  had  been  buried  with  honor  and 
affection  worthy  of  such  a  choice  spirit. 

Then  the  entirely  unexpected  happened.  There  was 
a  young  man  among  our  leaders,  very  hopeful  and 
courageous,  who  was  constantly  growing  in  influence 
over  us;  an  obstacle  only  invited  him  to  overcome  it, 
and  he  carried  along  many  followers  by  his  contagious 
good  cheer.  He  met  the  opposition  of  our  foes  with 
a  mingled  tact  and  determination  that  frequently 
silenced  them.  He  seemed  to  have  but  one  idea  which 
swayed  him  and  through  him  swayed  a  multitude: 
that  our  God,  who  had  commanded  the  building  of  the 


I40  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

temple,  would  certainly  crown  his  obedient  followers 
with  complete  success,  no  matter  how  difficult  the  task 
or  who  opposed  them.  Many  thought  he  was  a  young 
enthusiast  who  lacked  judgment'  and  that  we  should 
be  very  cautious  how  we  followed  him  lest  he  should 
awaken  our  foes  to  fierce  and  overwhelming  opposi- 
tion, lest  we  undertake  a  greater  work  than  we  had 
power  to  complete.  Others  thought,  especially  the 
younger  among  us,  that  his  was  the  only  reasonable 
spirit  in  carrying  out  the  commandment  of  our  God. 

But  while  we  differed  in  our  views  of  this  young 
man  and  his  enthusisastic  leadership,  not  a  single  one 
of  us  ever  dreamed  of  his  being  a  prophet  of  God,  nor 
had  he  ever  claimed  such  an  office.  Then  at  the  close 
of  the  evening  sacrifice,  Zechariah  made  a  great  ora- 
tion to  the  assembled  people,  claiming  that  God  had 
given  him  a  message  for  us."^  No  one  of  us  will  ever 
forget  that  speech.  In  a  most  rapt  way  he  described 
to  us  a  series  of  strange  visions  God  had  given  him 
and  as  he  described  them  he  seemed  to  see  them  again ; 
and  he  made  us  see  them  as  he  saw  them ;  and  the  awe 
he  felt  thrilled  our  souls  as  well.  In  each  case  he 
asked  an  angel  who  stood  by  him,  the  meaning  of 
the  vision;  and  as  he  told  us  the  answer  given  him,  it 
seemed  as  if  God  spoke  to  us  through  him.  It  seemed, 
as  Zechariah  spoke,  that  God  was  present  though  our 
eyes  could  not  see  him;  and  that  he  was  showing  us 
the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  and  the  forces  dominant  in 
them,  that  we  might  courageously  fill  our  part  In  God's 
great  plan.  Zechariah,  this  young  prophet,  as  he  de- 
scribed each  vision,  said:  "I  lifted  up  mine  eyes  and 

♦Zechariah,  the  whole  book. 


HAGGAI,  ZECHARIAH  141 

saw":  what  he  saw  God  made  him  see;  then  in  each 
case  he  said:  "Oh  my  Lord,  what  are  these?"  And 
the  angel  described  the  meaning  of  the  vision:  the 
prophet  was  only  the  seer  of  the  sights  God  made  to 
pass  before  him,  and  the  speaker  of  the  message  God 
gave  to  him.  The  visions,  while  far  different  from 
each  other,  seemed  closely  related  in  their  meaning; 
and,  as  he  described  them  and  explained  them,  we 
were  carried  on  to  ever  higher  heights  of  courage  and 
enthusiasm  to  build  the  temple. 

The  first  vision  was  of  a  man  riding  a  horse  and 
leading  many  other  horses.  And  the  angel  said, 
"These  are  the  Lord's  messengers  through  the  earth, 
hear  the  report  they  make,  *We  have  walked  peace- 
fully through  the  earth  and  behold  the  earth  sitteth 
still  and  is  at  rest.'  Then  the  Lord  said,  'This  is  the 
peaceful  time,  I  am  returned  to  Jerusalem  with 
mercies,  my  house  shall  be  built  in  it  for  me  to  dwell 
there.'  " 

The  second  vision  was  of  horns  and  smiths  breaking 
them.  And  the  angel  said,  "Though  the  horns  of  all 
earthly  powers  may  oppose,  the  smiths  of  the  Lord 
will  break  them." 

The  third  vision  was  of  a  man  measuring  the  bounds 
of  the  city.  And  the  angel  said,  "Multitudes  shall 
dwell  in  the  city  and  be  secure  for  the  Lord  himself 
will  be  unto  her  a  wall  of  fire  round  about  her  and  a 
glory  in  the  midst  of  her :  sing  and  rejoice,  oh  daughter 
of  Zion,  for  lo !  I  come,  and  I  will  dwell  in  the  midst 
of  thee  saith  the  Lord." 

The  fourth  vision  was  of  Joshua,  our  high  priest, 
clad  in  poor  garments  and  Satan  opposing  him.   And 


142  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

the  angel  said,  "The  Lord  rebuke  thee,  oh  Satan ;  take 
the  poor  garments  from  the  high  priest  and  clothe  him 
with  rich  apparel,  and  set  a  fair  mitre  upon  his  head; 
for  the  Lord  hath  caused  the  iniquity  of  the  people  to 
pass  away  and  hath  clothed  them  with  the  spirit  of 
walking  in  his  ways,  so  their  priest  shall  have  access 
to  me." 

The  fifth  vision  was  of  a  golden  candle-stick  in  the 
temple,  fed  by  the  oil  from  wonderful  living  olive 
trees.  And  the  angel  said,  "O  Zerubbabel,  thou  gov- 
ernor of  my  people,  thy  work  is  not  by  thy  might,  nor 
by  thy  power,  but  by  my  spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts. 
Thy  hands  have  laid  the  foundations  of  my  temple,  thy 
hands  shall  finish  it.  Who  art  thou,  oh  great  mountain 
that  opposes  him!  Thou  shalt  become  a  plain;  he 
shall  bring  forth  the  head-stone  of  my  house  with 
shoutings  of  grace  unto  it." 

Then  followed  strange  visions  of  an  immense  fly- 
ing roll,  and  of  a  woman  sitting  in  a  large  measure 
which  was  carried  by  women  with  wings,  and  of  four 
chariots  with  horses  coming  out  from  between  two 
mountains  of  brass  and  driving  like  the  wind  in  all 
directions;  and  the  angel  explained  that  the  Lord 
would  remove  wickedness  out  of  his  land  and  would 
subdue  all  lands  under  his  righteous  dominion. 

Zechariah  closed  his  great  oration  by  telling  us  that 
Jehovah  had  commanded  him  to  make  a  crown  of 
silver  and  gold,  very  rich,  and  place  it  upon  the  head 
of  Joshua,  our  high  priest,  and  this  crown  was  to  be 
treasured  in  the  temple  of  the  Lord.  Connected  with 
this  priestly  crown  there  was  a  mysterious  promise 
which   we    could   not    fully   understand   but   which 


HAGGAI,  ZECHARIAH  143 

brought  to  our  memory  the  statement  of  Haggai :  that 
the  glory  of  this  temple  would  be  greater  than  that  of 
Solomon.  "The  Lord  will  raise  up  a  man  whose 
name  is  the  Branch,  he  shall  grow  and  shall  build  the 
temple  and  shall  bear  the  glory  and  shall  be  a  priest, 
sitting  and  ruling  upon  his  throne,  and  they  that  are 
afar  off  shall  come  and  build  in  the  temple  of  the 
Lord." 

It  has  been  several  months  since  the  death  of  the 
old  prophet,  Haggai,  and  since  the  outburst  of  proph- 
ecy in  the  enthusiastic  young  man,  Zechariah,  and  the 
work  of  building  the  temple  is  going  on  with  much 
zeal.  We  feel  that  we  have  been  wonderfully  restored 
from  the  long  captivity  in  Babylon,  and  though  we 
have  many  hardships  and  much  opposition  and  great 
difficulty,  yet  we  are  obeying  the  commands  of  our 
g'-eat  Jehovah  and  he  is  with  us  and  is  blessing  us. 

Our  temple,  at  its  best,  will  not  be  as  splendid  in 
outward  appearance  as  that  where  our  fathers  wor- 
shipped, the  temple  Solomon  builded ;  but  the  prophets 
have  given  us  the  vision  of  God's  plans,  and  the  temple 
we  build  will  have  the  greater  inward  glory,  it  will  be 
the  throne-room  where  the  Branch  that  God  will  raise 
up,  the  King-priest,  crowned  by  God's  command,  will 
sit  and  rule  all  the  nations  in  righteousness. 

So  the  temple  nears  completion  as  we  work  with  the 
great  courage  that  the  prophets  have  inspired. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE  STORY  OF  TWO  ORATIONS  BY  JESUS 
OF  NAZARETH 

A  Letter  from  One  Traveling  in  the  Eastern 

Provinces  to  His  Father^  a  Patrician 

AT  Rome 

After  visiting  Ephesus,  Antioch  and  Damascus,  I 
reached  this  land  some  three  months  ago  and  I  have 
become  so  much  interested  in  these  people  that  I  plan 
to  remain  among  them  for  a  long  time.  At  first  I 
lived  in  Capernaum,  a  flourishing  city  on  the  Sea  of 
Tiberias  and  there  I  have  my  apartments  now;  I 
have  secured  them  from  a  wealthy  Greek  merchant 
whose  marble  palace  is  reflected  in  the  clear  waters  of 
the  lake,  and  there  my  servants  are  staying:  it  is  a 
home  befitting  the  rank  of  your  son. 

But  the  city  itself  is  every  much  like  the  other  cities 
I  have  visited,  it  is  on  the  caravan  route  from  the 
great  sea  to  Damascus ;  and  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,  while 
small,  has  many  cities  upon  its  shores  and  much  com- 
merce is  carried  on;  so  the  city  is  one  of  merchants 
and  traders,  and  the  streets  are  full  of  the  rush  of 
business,  and  men  of  many  nations  meet  in  its  markets : 
it  is  a  place  of  great  wealth  and  large  influence  and 
here,  of  course,  the  power  of  our  great  empire  is 
dominant. 

144 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  145 

But  now  for  a  month  or  more  I  have  been  living 
among  the  people  of  the  land  in  the  towns  and  villages 
off  the  great  caravan  route  and  between  the  Sea  of 
Tiberias  and  the  great  sea.  I  am  trying  to  realize 
your  design  in  sending  me  to  other  lands,  that  I  may 
learn  self-control  and  so  learn  to  control  others,  that  I 
may  know  how  to  rule  strange  people  should  I  ever 
become  the  governor  of  a  province,  that  I  may  be 
your  worthy  successor  in  the  senate  should  that  time 
ever  come,  and  that  I  may  know  how  to  manage  our 
vast  estates.  I  am  alone  among  the  people,  my  serv- 
ants I  have  ordered  to  remain  in  Capernaum,  but  I 
am  being  well-treated  and  I  am  welcomed  wherever  I 
go,  treated  as  one  of  their  number.  You  may  think 
this  very  strange  when  I  tell  you  what  kind  of  people 
they  are,  that  I,  a  Roman  nobleman,  should  be  willing 
to  live  with  them  as  an  equal,  and  that  they,  though 
very  hospitable,  should  be  willing  to  receive  one  of 
their  conquerors  as  a  friend.  The  first  is  a  long  story 
which  this  letter  will  explain;  the  second,  their  high 
regard  for  me,  is  due  to  a  little  adventure  I  had  when 
I  first  went  out  among  them.  These  people  have  a 
very  high  regard  for  the  virtue  of  their  women,  as 
you  have  taught  me  to  have ;  their  mothers  are  vener- 
ated, husbands  and  wives  are  true  to  each  other, 
divorce  is  almost  unknown  among  them,  and  the 
chastity  of  their  maidens  is  sacred.  One  day  as  I  was 
walking  along  the  high  wall  of  an  olive  grove  I  heard 
an  agonized  cry  for  help.  I  sprang  over  the  wall  and, 
running  into  the  thick  grove,  I  found  a  Roman  cen- 
turion trying  to  violate  a  Jewish  maiden  and  she  was 
in  desperate  resistance.     Drawing  my  sword,  I  sprang 


146  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

to  her  assistance;  I  found  the  centurion  a  brave  war- 
rior and  it  was  only  after  a  fierce  battle  that  I  suc- 
ceeded in  disabling  him;  then  I  made  myself  known 
to  him  and  denounced  his  dastardly  attempt.  But 
another  had  heard  the  maiden's  cry  for  help,  and  her 
betrothed  lover,  a  sturdy  peasant,  came  with  fury,  to 
save  her;  with  a  great  club  he  would  have  killed  the 
disabled  centurion  had  I  not  defended  him;  so  I  won 
the  respect  of  the  centurion  by  saving  his  life  and  the 
deep  gratitude  of  the  lovers,  I  saved  them  to  each 
other,  for  had  he  killed  the  centurion  his  own  life 
would  have  been  forfeited.  Not  only  did  the  town 
where  they  lived  and  where  they  were  soon  married, 
welcome  me  as  their  friend  but  many  other  nearby 
towns  heard  of  my  risking  my  life  to  save  the  girl 
from  a  Roman  centurion  and  welcomed  me  as  their 
friend;  I  became  a  hero  in  their  esteem,  their  own 
hero,  and  they  treated  me  and  are  treating  me  without 
reserve  as  their  friend. 

The  remainder  of  this  letter  will  explain  to  you 
how  I,  who  have  always  lived  in  a  palace  and  asso- 
ciated only  with  the  noble,  should  be  interested  in 
these  people  whom  we  must  call  peasants,  and  why  I 
should  be  a  guest  in  their  common  abodes. 

The  land  is  very  beautiful,  valleys  and  plains  with 
quite  high  hills  and  to  the  north  high  mountains, 
give  it  a  varied  charm;  the  views  are  delightful  of  the 
rolling  hills  and  lofty  mountains,  the  great  sea  toward 
the  sunset  and  the  little  sea  toward  the  east  with  the 
lofty  table-lands  beyond.  On  the  hillsides  and  in  the 
valleys  there  are  many  towns  and  villages,  their  white 
buildings,  made  of  the  native  rock,  flashing  in  the 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  147 

sunlight.  The  Hfe  in  these  towns  seems  like  that  of  a 
large  family,  there  are  no  classes  among  the  people 
such  as  we  are  familiar  with  rich  and  poor,  patrons 
and  clients,  masters  and  slaves,  land-owners  and  land- 
laborers;  but  all  are  equal  in  rights  and  privileges 
and  live  as  neighbors  and  friends.  Each  town  and 
village  is  self-supporting,  there  is  friendly  intercourse 
with  others  but  only  that  of  fellowship,  not  of  depend- 
ence. The  people  are  themselves  of  a  wonderfully 
independent,  self-respecting,  self-supporting  spirit.  All 
the  land  in  this  section  of  the  country,  and  I  under- 
stand it  is  largely  so  in  the  southern  province,  is 
divided  up  into  small  farms  and  each  farm  is  held  by 
a  family  in  successive  generations  and  so  becomes 
very  dear  to  the  family.  The  families  live  together  in 
the  fellowship  of  the  villages  and  towns;  each  family 
has  its  own  house  and,  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town  on 
all  sides,  each  family  has  its  own  small  farm.  These 
farms  are  generally  narrow  strips  of  land  reaching 
and  touching,  at  the  farther  end,  the  farms  of  the 
next  village :  so  there  are  a  multitude  of  such  villages 
covering  the  hillsides  and  nestling  in  the  valleys.  Each 
family  sends  its  members  out  in  the  morning  to  culti- 
vate the  land;  the  families  are  generally  large  so  the 
workers  are  many,  and  there  is  a  friendly  rivalry  in 
making  each  farm  a  garden  spot;  the  valleys  are 
covered  with  grain,  the  hills  are  terraced  with  olive 
groves  and  vineyards,  so  the  land,  naturally  fertile, 
and  cultivated  in  this  way,  becomes  very  productive 
and,  were  it  not  for  the  heavy  taxes  of  our  empire 
and  of  the  people's  religion,  plenty  would  abound 
and  prosperity  be  more  evenly  distributed. 


148  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

So  you  see  if  I  am  to  live  with  these  people  at  all 
I  cannot  live  in  a  palace,  the  center  of  a  large  estate 
as  in  my  homeland,  for  there  is  no  such  large  estate 
owned  by  the  people  of  the  land  and  only  here  and 
there  one  that  some  noble  Roman  or  Greek  has,  by 
various  means  of  oppression,  secured  for  himself.  In 
our  land,  many  such  villages  would  themselves  be 
owned  by  some  wealthy  nobleman  whose  palace  would 
dominate  the  country-side,  and  the  people  of  the  vil- 
lages would  be  his  dependents,  and  you  would  not 
want  your  son  to  live  or  associate  in  any  way  with 
such  inferiors.  But  here  I  am  living  with  the  land- 
owners themselves  and  they  are  a  most  self-respecting 
and  independent  people ;  I  have  learned,  proud  Roman 
as  I  am,  to  hold  them  in  high  regard ;  and  they  regard 
me  as  their  friend;  and,  do  not  laugh  at  me  or  in 
scorn  of  them,  they  really  treat  me  as  their  equal. 

Their  hospitality  is  boundless.  When  the  workers 
return  from  the  fields  at  eventide  and  the  evening 
meal  is  over,  social  life  reigns  delightfully;  there  are 
gatherings  for  amusement  and,  would  you  believe  it, 
there  are  gatherings  for  culture  and  for  the  discussion 
of  interesting  questions  of  politics  and  religion;  and  to 
all  I  am  heartily  welcomed.  One  day  in  every  seven 
these  people  cease  all  work  on  farm  or  in  village, 
dress  themselves  in  their  festal  robes  and,  men  and 
women  mingling  together  as  equals,  they  assemble  in 
a  large  central  building  that  they  call  a  synagogue 
and  they  sing  the  songs  of  their  religion  and  make 
prayers  to  their  God,  though  there  is  no  image  of  him 
or  any  other  sign  of  his  presence,  and  one  of  them 
reads  from  their  sacred  books  and  speaks  upon  what 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  149 

he  has  read;  others  as  they  may  desire  are  free  to 
speak  also,  and  frequently  there  is  a  very  earnest  dis- 
cussion as  to  how  they  shall  conduct  themselves  toward 
their  God  and  toward  each  other  in  their  daily  life 
and,  also,  toward  the  Roman  government. 

There  is  a  school  for  the  young,  connected  with  each 
synagogue,  where  all  the  children  of  the  village  are 
taught,  which  accounts,  in  a  measure,  for  the  general 
intelligence  of  the  people;  and  this  is  still  further 
promoted  by  the  general  discussion  of  important  ques- 
tions of  life  on  the  rest  days  and  on  other  days  also; 
and  still  further  by  the  general  independence  of  the 
people  in  owning  the  land  and  in  planning  for  and 
taking  care  of  themselves:  the  responsibility  of  self- 
support  quickens  their  intelligence  and  independence. 
There  is  no  one  to  plan  for  them  or  to  direct  them  in 
their  work,  no  one  to  act  in  any  large  way  as  a  father 
or  patron  of  them  to  support  them  or  to  defend  them, 
and  so  they  must  as  equals  take  care  of  themselves; 
and  this  develops  the  true  manliness  and  womanliness 
which  have  now  my  highest  admiration.  You  can 
hardly  believe  I  know,  for  I  could  not  if  I  had  not 
lived  among  them,  that  all  the  people  of  the  land 
deserve  the  name  of  noblemen;  we  are  so  used  to 
taking  care  of  our  dependents  on  our  vast  estates  and 
to  rule  the  many  slaves  in  our  palaces  that  we  can 
think  only  of  ourselves  as  noblemen  and  of  all  other 
people  as  far  beneath  us,  even  as  belonging  to  an 
inferior  race;  but  there  are  no  inferiors  here,  all  are 
independent,  equal,  and  live  in  these  towns  and  villages 
as  members  of  one  large  family. 

For  the  past  few  weeks  I  have  been  living,  a  guest 


I50  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

of  several  families,  in  the  village  of  Nazareth;  it  is 
the  home  of  several  thousand  of  these  independent 
people,  most  of  them  owners  and  farmers  of  the  sur- 
rounding land  and  such  merchants  and  artizans  as  are 
needed  to  make  the  common  life  flow  easily  and 
smoothly.  It  is  beautifully  situated  on  a  high  hillside 
looking  off  to  the  great  sea  and  the  wide,  charming 
views  of  hill  and  valley  and  sea  are  inspiring  to  every 
lover  of  nature  and  the  air  is  as  clear  and  warm  and 
the  skies  are  as  blue  as  in  my  beloved  homeland.  I 
have  here  learned  of  a  remarkable  man,  a  native  of 
this  town  who  carried  on  the  trade  of  a  carpenter  up 
to  about  a  year  ago,  but  who  now  has  become  a  great 
teacher  having  a  large  and  spreading  influence  among 
the  people  of  the  whole  land,  he  is  still  a  young  man 
about  thirty  years  of  age  and  is  called  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth. He  teaches  about,  what  he  calls,  the  Kingdom 
of  God  which  he  is  to  establish.  A  few  weeks  before 
I  came  here  he  came  back  to  Nazareth  for  a  few 
days;  he  had  won  the  admiration  and  regard  of  all 
by  his  life  among  them  as  a  carpenter  for  he  had  been 
a  fine  and  faithful  workman  in  all  departments  of  his 
trade;  and  the  people  were  very  proud  of  the  fame 
as  a  teacher  he  had  attained  as  far  south  as  the  capital 
city,  Jerusalem;  so  his  welcome  by  his  former  friends 
and  neighbors  was  hearty.  But  there  came  a  sudden 
revulsion  of  feeling  when  on  the  rest  day  he  spoke 
to  the  assembled  multitude  in  their  synagogue,  and  they 
turned  him  out  of  their  town,  threatening  to  kill  him. 
I  find  it  diflicult  to  understand  why  this  quick  change 
of  feeling  occurred.  It  seems  he  gave  a  most  glowing 
account  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  they  were  aston- 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  151 

ished  at  his  learning  and  eloquence;  and  when  they 
questioned  him  further  about  this  kingdom,  he  inti- 
mated to  them  in  his  vivid  way  that  he  would  extend 
it  to  all  nations  besides  their  own,  that  it  would  take 
in,  on  equal  terms,  even  their  former  and  present 
oppressors,  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans;  then  they 
rose  against  him  in  flaming  wrath.  He  is  now  making 
his  home  in  Capernaum  from  which  place  he  goes 
about  teaching  in  various  towns,  and  recently  I  found 
an  opportunity  to  hear  him  for  I  was  very  anxious 
to  learn  about  the  strange  kingdom  he  is  proclaiming. 
Besides  there  are  many  stories  told  of  this  Jesus:  that 
he  works  signs  or  wonders,  as  they  are  called,  deeds 
that  show  that  he  has  more  than  human  power,  and 
he  always  works  these  to  bless  the  needy,  and  from 
the  goodness  of  his  heart. 

Do  you  remember  the  patrician,  our  nearest  neigh- 
bor, who  left  Rome  several  years  ago  because  it  was 
thought  his  invalid  son  would  be  benefited  by  living 
in  the  far  east?  I  met  him  in  Capernaum,  he  has  a 
fine  palace  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  and  when  I 
visited  him  there  I  asked  him  about  his  son.  He  at 
once  called  him  and  he  is  now  the  very  picture  of 
youthful,  vigorous  health.  I  expressed  my  gratified 
surprise  that  the  climate  had  done  so  much  for  him. 
*'Oh,  it  was  not  the  climate,"  he  said,  **he  became 
weaker  and  weaker  and  at  length  was  at  the  point  of 
death.  Then  in  my  despair  I  sought  out  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  he  was  teaching  some  twenty  miles  off,  I 
thrust  my  way  through  the  crowd  and  interrupted  him 
with  my  agonized  cry :  *Sir,  come  down  ere  my  child 
die!'    He  looked  upon  me  with  mingled  majesty  and 


152  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

compassion  and  said  in  utmost  simplicity,  *Go  thy  way, 
thy  son  liveth*;  it  seemed  impossible,  but  I  believed 
him ;  and  bowing  down  low  to  him,  I  hastened  on  my 
return.  When  I  reached  home  the  next  day  I  found 
my  son  well  and  strong  and  he  told  me  that  the  fever 
left  him  at  the  very  hour  the  day  before  that  Jesus 
had  said  Thy  son  liveth/  Now  I  believe  in  Jesus 
and  in  his  kingdom  and  so  do  all  my  family."  So  I 
became  still  more  anxious  to  hear  this  wonderful 
teacher  speak  about  his  new  kingdom. 

A  few  evenings  ago  it  was  rumored  through  the 
town  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  a  few  miles  off 
toward  the  Sea  of  Tiberias;  several  members  of  the 
family,  whose  guest  I  was,  had  great  admiration  for 
him  and  proposed  an  early  trip  the  next  morning  to 
hear  him;  many  others  entered  into  the  plan  and  I 
was  very  glad  to  go  with  them.  The  stars  were  still 
shining  when  we  started  and  we  were  quickly  joined 
on  our  way  by  many  others  from  other  towns.  When 
we  came  near  the  village  where  Jesus  had  spent  the 
night  we  found  the  whole  country-side  had  poured 
out,  from  all  directions,  a  multitude  of  men  and 
women  eager  to  hear  him.  Some  of  his  attendants, 
by  his  direction,  arranged  that  we  should  gather  on  a 
certain  hillside  and  that  Jesus  would  then  come  and 
speak  to  us.  It  was  a  strikingly  beautiful  scene :  the 
hill  sloped  gently  down  to  a  broad  plain  which  reached 
to  the  litde  sea  only  a  few  miles  distant ;  the  multitude 
sat  down  on  the  grass,  the  day  was  clear  as  a  bell,  the 
air  delightful  with  the  breath  of  the  springtime.  There 
was  eager  excitement  quickly  spreading  through  the 
crowd  when  it  became  known  that  Jesus  had  recently 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  153 

worked  many  wonders  of  healing  and  that  he  had  just 
chosen  twelve  men  to  carry  on  his  work  and  had 
conferred  like  power  upon  them. 

As  I  looked  over  the  multitude  most  of  them  were 
evidently  from  the  surrounding  towns  but  there  were 
also  many  who,  by  their  dress,  showed  they  were 
from  distant  cities  and  from  other  lands.  There  was 
a  hush  of  all  the  excited  talk,  and  a  great  silence 
when  a  tall  and  powerfully  built  man,  in  the  ordinary 
garb  of  the  country  people,  passed  with  great  dignity 
of  bearing,  among  us  and,  reaching  a  vantage-point, 
turned  and  began  speaking  to  us.  Then  for  the  first 
time  I  saw  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a  man  I  will  never 
forget. 

His  face  was  like  that  of  a  god,  like  Apollo,  full 
of  a  commanding  majesty  and  mingled  with  it,  a  deep 
compassion  for  mankind.  His  voice,  how  shall  I 
describe  it?  It  had  much  of  Jove-like  power  that 
spoke  only  to  be  obeyed,  and  with  it  was  an  infinite 
tenderness  like  that  of  some  noble  mother  counseling 
her  sons  to  lofty  lives.  And  the  speech  he  made  to 
us,  how  I  wish  I  could  fully  describe  it  to  you;  I  had 
meant  to  take  notes  and  had  brought  my  tablets  with 
me,  but  I  was  so  impressed  by  the  man  and  his  great 
oration  that  I  forgot  the  tablets,  I  was  simply  carried 
along  by  his  eloquence;  so  now  I  can  only  try  to  tell 
you  what  he  made  me  see  and  feel  of  the  great  king- 
dom of  God  he  is  trying  to  establish. 

From  the  first  words  he  spoke*  I  got  the  idea  that 
his  kingdom  was  to  be  one  of  happiness  and,  strange 
to  say,  this  happiness  did  not  arise   from  outward 

•  Matthew,  chapters  5,  6,  7. 


154  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

conditions  of  wealth  or  power;  it  did  not  arise  from 
grasping  and  struggling  and  conquering  in  contests 
with  others;  it  belonged  to  the  poor  not  to  the  rich, 
to  the  meek  not  to  the  proud,  to  the  merciful  not  to 
the  exacting,  to  the  peace-makers  not  to  the  war- 
makers,  it  was  the  reverse  of  our  Roman  ideas  of 
happiness. 

At  first  I  thought  he  was  trying  to  make  the  con- 
quered content  with  their  hard  lot,  to  cheer  and  com- 
fort the  weak  and  oppressed ;  but  there  was  a  strange 
incitement  that  thrilled  me  and,  as  I  looked  upon  the 
eager  faces  of  the  listeners,  I  saw  them  awaken  to 
lofty  purpose  and  splendid  hope ;  a  happiness  that  was 
independent  of  rank  and  station  might  itself  be  more 
lofty  and  splendid  than  the  highest  station,  not  only 
independent  of  it  but  itself  high  above  it.  We  Romans 
are  proud  of  ruling  the  world  but  are  not  very  happy 
in  ruling  it,  nor  is  the  world  much  happier  for  our 
rule.  We  patricians  are  proud  of  our  noble  rank  but 
are  we  happy  in  our  palaces  or  are  our  clients  and 
slaves,  the  great  mass  of  our  people,  happier  for  our 
being  lifted  so  high  above  them?  Have  we  Roman 
nobles  secured  the  noblest  happiness  within  our  reach  ? 
I  cannot  tell  how  it  was  done,  I  cannot  quote  the 
splendid,  flowing  sentences  that  came  from  his  lips, 
but  somehow  he  made  me  see  a  nobler  manhood  than 
I  had  ever  dreamed  of  before,  made  me  ambitious  to 
be  a  nobleman  not  merely  of  Rome  but  of  the  race  of 
mankind.  Then  too  I  saw  the  faces  of  the  multitude 
light  up  with  hope  and  purpose  as  they  caught  the 
spirit  of  his  great  oration,  as  through  his  flowing, 
stately  eloquence  he  poured  his  ideas  and  his  power 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  155 

into  their  minds  and  hearts,  and  he  made  me  feel  that 
it  was  as  possible  for  the  lowest  farmer  in  that  crowd 
as  it  was  for  me,  the  proud  Roman,  to  aspire  to,  to 
strive  for  and  to  attain  the  noblest  manhood,  that  all 
men  of  whatever  nationality,  of  whatever  rank,  had 
equal  right  and  equal  obligation  to  become  noblemen. 

There  was  a  great  deal  in  this  wonderful  oration 
that  I  could  not  fully  understand,  especially  about 
the  religion  of  this  people.  It  seems  they  believe  there 
is  but  one  God  and  that  he  has  a  special  interest  in 
their  nation,  and  it  seemed  that  Jesus  had  the  strongest 
faith  in  this  one  God  but  also  believed  that  he  ex- 
tended his  interest  to  all  nations.  It  seems  they  be- 
lieve this  God  has  given  them  certain  laws,  and  some 
of  their  teachers  limit  these  laws  to  outward  acts, 
but  Jesus  insists  they  should  govern  the  mind  and 
heart  as  well  as  the  acts  of  man.  He  used  some  very 
striking  sayings  in  speaking  of  these  laws,  so  striking 
that  they  hold  fast  in  my  memory  and  stir  my  con- 
science. He  said  "He  that  looketh  on  a  woman  to 
lust  after  her  hath  commited  adultery  with  her  al- 
ready in  his  heart."  He  said  ''He  that  is  angry  with 
his  brother  is  in  danger  of  being  judged  by  God''  and 
he  insists  that  all  men  are  our  brothers.  He  com- 
manded "Love  your  enemies  and  do  good  to  them 
that  hate  you."  He  gave  also  a  general  rule  for 
thinking,  feeling  and  acting  which,  it  seems  to  me, 
forces  us  to  acknowledge  that  all  men,  even  our  slaves, 
have  equal  rights:  he  said  "Do  unto  others  as  ye 
would  that  they  should  do  unto  you."  I  wonder  if 
we  could  have  slaves  at  all  if  we  kept  this  rule.  But 
not  only  did  he  describe  how  men  should  treat  each 


156  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

other  in  their  action  and  regard  them  in  their  thoughts 
as  brothers  but  he  urged  them  in  this  way  to  serve 
and  grow  hke  their  God :  ''Be  perfect  as  your  heavenly 
Father  is  perfect;  do  good  even  to  your  enemies,  so 
shall  ye  be  sons  of  the  Most  High,  for  he  is  kind  to 
the  unthankful  and  the  evil;  be  ye  merciful  even  as 
your  Father  is  merciful.'*  Is  not  that  a  wonderful 
thought  of  God,  a  father  not  only  as  creating  and 
ruling  as  we  think  of  Jupiter,  but  as  having  a  fatherly 
feeling  for  all  men,  being  kind  and  merciful  even  to 
the  evil? 

So  this  great  oration  upon  the  kingdom  Jesus  is 
trying  to  establish  shows  it  is  not  for  his  nation  alone 
but  for  all  the  nations,  and  also  that  it  is  most  unlike 
the  kingdom  of  power,  unlike  our  Roman  Empire. 
He  began  by  describing  it  as  the  kingdom  of  happiness 
but,  as  he  swept  on  in  the  torrent  of  his  most  thrilling 
eloquence,  it  became  the  kingdom  of  self-respect  when 
each  man  respects  himself  as  the  son  of  God  and 
respects  all  other  men  as  his  brothers;  and,  having 
this  deep  respect  in  his  heart,  he  regards  himself  and 
regards  his  fellow-man,  of  whatever  race  or  rank,  as 
a  child  of  his  Father  in  heaven;  and  as  that  Father 
regards  him  in  mercy  and  love  so  he  must  treat  his 
fellowman  as  a  real  brother. 

One  can  easily  see  that  the  empire  of  Rome  must 
pass  away  if  this  kingdom  of  self-respect  is  to  be 
established,  that  all  our  rank  and  splendid  station 
must  pass  away  when  all  men  shall  respect  themselves 
and  each  other  equally,  that  our  class  is  not  born  to 
rule  nor  the  mass  of  men  to  be  ruled;  that  one  class 
is  not  born  to  grasp  and  grow  rich  and  powerful  and 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  157 

the  mass  of  men  to  be  taxed  and  to  grow  poor;  but 
that  all  are  to  govern  themselves  into  a  growing  like- 
ness to  their  Father  in  heaven.  This  kingdom  of 
happiness,  this  kingdom  of  self-respect,  if  it  ever 
spreads  over  the  earth,  may  well  be  called  the  kingdom 
of  God,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  on  earth. 

Jesus  closed  his  great  oration  most  impressively  by 
stating  with  Jove-like  authority  that  only  the  life 
builded  in  obedience  to  his  teaching  would  last  through 
all  trials  and  be  approved  of  God.  When  he  had 
finished  speaking,  Jesus  passed  down  the  hillside  to 
the  Sea  of  Tiberias  and  so  walked  toward  Capernaum, 
and  great  multitudes  followed  him.  There  was  great 
discussion  as  we  mingled  with  each  other,  concerning 
the  ideas  of  the  kingdom  he  was  trying  to  establish. 
A  learned  Greek  said  with  a  sneer  "He  speaks  of 
himself  and  his  few  lowly  followers  as  the  light  of 
the  world,  his  is  a  very  small  world  bounded  by  these 
green  hills,  he  evidently  has  never  heard  of  Athens 
and  the  groves  of  philosophy,  never  heard  of  Socrates 
and  Plato :  it  is  absurd  that  his  teachings  should  com- 
pare with  theirs,  or  ever  take  the  place  of  theirs."  A 
Roman  commander  of  a  legion,  walking  with  us,  advo- 
cated the  rule  of  the  many  by  the  few,  he  thought 
that  Jesus  himself  would  see  the  impossibility  of  his 
kingdom  of  the  masses,  of  self-respecting  manhood, 
if  he  should  visit  the  capital  of  the  world;  if  he  should 
tread  the  Forum  he  would  see  that  the  power  en- 
throned in  the  senate  and  the  emperor  was  needed  to 
keep  the  masses  in  order. 

One  of  the  religious  leaders  of  this  people  turned 
to  us  with  lofty  scorn,  "Oh,  that  kingdom  that  Jesus 


158  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

advocates  is  not  the  kingdom  we  are  looking  forward 
to;  ours,  too,  is  a  kingdom  of  glory  and  power  when 
our  God  will  give  us  the  rule  over  all  the  earth;  you 
Romans  then  will  feel  how  it  is  to  be  ruled  by  us  as  you 
now  rule  us."  But  the  people  generally,  those  with 
whom  I  have  been  living  for  the  past  few  months  in 
their  towns  and  villages,  were  eager  in  their  approval 
of  the  kingdom,  only  they  confined  it  largely  to  them- 
selves, they  failed  to  grasp  the  teaching  of  Jesus  that 
it  was  to  take  in,  in  its  broad  sweep,  all  the  races  and 
classes  of  mankind.  I  confess  that  it  is  this  that 
startles  me,  I  can  see  the  grandeur  of  the  idea,  but 
how  it  can  ever  be  brought  about,  I  fail  to  see;  but 
when  I  was  under  the  spell  of  his  presence  and  elo- 
quence it  seemed  to  me  it  would  surely  come  to  pass : 
when  all  men  would  regard  themselves  as  children  of 
God  and  think  and  feel  and  act  toward  each  other  as 
such  in  the  universal  kingdom  of  self-respect,  the 
kingdom  of  God  on  earth.  Some  of  my  friends  from 
Nazareth  thought  that  Jesus,  by  his  more  than  human 
power,  would  sweep  away  all  opposition  and  establish 
his  kingdom  whenever  he  chose,  but  it  seems  to  me 
that  power  cannot  do  this,  that  the  sweep  of  armies 
over  the  nations  would  be  in  vain,  that  the  kingdom  of 
self-respect  and  respect  for  all  men  must  grow  within 
men,  that  it  cannot  be  forced  from  without;  and  I 
have  heard  that  Jesus  himself  often  insists  upon  this 
nature  of  his  kingdom. 

This  letter  had  to  be  broken  off  here;  and  now- 
after  more  than  a  year  has  passed,  I  take  it  up  again 
to  tell  you  more  of  this  strange  people  and  this  wonder- 
ful man. 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  159 

When  I  reached  Capernaum  I  found  there  several 
Roman  nobles  about  to  undertake  the  daring  journey 
across  the  desert  to  Babylon;  they  wanted  to  rival 
the  famous  ride  of  Nebuchadnezzar  when  he  was  be- 
sieging Jerusalem  and,  on  some  emergency  of  state, 
rode  straight  across  the  desert  to  his  capital;  it  was 
thought  impossible,  but  what  the  world-conqueror  could 
do  centuries  ago  these  young  Romans  thought  they 
could  do  as  well.  The  novelty  and  danger  of  the 
adventure  greatly  appealed  to  me  and,  at  their  urgent 
request,  I  joined  them.  I  wanted  to  feel  the  spell  of 
the  vast  silence  of  the  desert,  to  feel  the  warmth  of  the 
sun  by  day,  to  gaze  upon  the  brilliant  stars  by  night, 
to  press  on  to  the  receding,  far-off  horizon  by  day 
and  by  night  and  then  to  visit  the  far-famed  capital 
city  of  the  vast,  ancient  world-empire.  Our  trip  far 
exceeded  our  anticipations  and  I  will  fully  describe  it 
to  you  as  soon  as  I  can  secure  a  little  leisure.  Coming 
back  we  passed  up  the  river-valley  until  we  were  oppo- 
site Palmyra  and  we  visited  for  several  weeks  that 
sparkling  gem  of  the  desert  and  so  came  on  south  to 
this  land  again  where  my  companions  left  me  to  return 
to  Rome.  For  several  weeks  I  rested  at  the  summer 
palace  of  Pilate,  the  governor,  on  the  eastern  slope 
of  Mount  Hermon;  his  wife,  Calpurnia  and  her  charm- 
ing daughter,  Livia,  with  their  large  retinue  were 
spending  the  hot  months  in  the  delightful  cool  of  the 
mountain.  As  you  know  my  warm  admiration  for 
Livia  and  my  hopes  concerning  her,  you  can  faintly 
imagine  my  delight  at  being  their  guest  and  then  to 
accompany  them  on  their  leisurely  return  to  Jeru- 
salem.    This  living  so  long  with  the  nobility  in  my 


i6o  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

adventure  in  strange  lands,  this  luxurious,  splendid 
life  with  Calpurnia  and  her  daughter  have  to  a  great 
degree  dimmed  my  interest  in  the  wonderful  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  and  in  his  kingdom ;  but  on  our  leisurely 
journey  south,  we  have  stopped  at  many  cities  and 
palaces  and  have  heard  a  great  deal  about  him  and  his 
vast  influence  with  the  people ;  and  Calpurnia  has  her- 
self become  very  deeply  interested  in  him.  Many 
things  the  people  tell  about  him  seem  too  wonderful 
to  be  true :  that  he  fed  a  vast  multitude,  some  say  five 
thousand  men,  with  a  few  loaves  and  fishes;  that. he 
stilled  a  great  tempest  on  the  Sea  of  Tiberias  by  a 
quiet  command  to  the  winds  and  the  waves;  that  he 
stood  by  a  grave  where  a  friend  of  his  had  been 
buried  for  several  days  and  at  his  command  his  friend 
had  come  forth  from  the  grave  alive  and  well. 

I  now  have  been  living  in  Jerusalem  for  over  a 
month,  I  have  apartments  in  one  of  its  ancient  palaces 
and  am  a  frequent  guest  in  the  palace  of  the  governor. 
Pilate  always  speaks  of  Jesus  with  a  sneer,  says  the 
stories  told  of  his  deeds  are  beyond  belief  and  that 
his  kingdom  is  a  wild  vision;  but  Calpurnia  always 
speaks  of  him  with  admiration,  believes  in  his  won- 
derful works  and  thinks  his  kingdom  would  bring 
blessings  to  all  nations.  Among  the  people  of  this, 
their  capital  city,  there  is  the  same  division  of  opinion. 
The  masses  of  the  people  admire  and  believe  in  him 
but  the  leaders  in  wealth  and  in  social  position  and 
especially  in  religion  are  open  and  severe  in  antago- 
nizing him:  they  recognize  instinctively  that  their 
supremacy  would  be  swept  away  if  his  kingdom  should 
be  established. 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  i6i 

Two  days  ago  there  was  wild  excitement  in  the  city. 
There  was  a  rumor  in  the  morning  that  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  would  enter  the  city  that  day  and  multi- 
tudes went  out  of  the  eastern  gate  and  across  the 
valley  and  up  the  Mount  of  Olives  to  meet  him.  He 
was  accompanied  by  a  large  number  of  his  enthusi- 
astic followers;  when  the  crowds  from  the  city  met 
them  they  formed  a  great  procession,  slowly  coming 
down  the  mountain  toward  the  city,  and  they  filled  the 
air  with  their  acclamations  and  their  religious  songs. 
Jesus  was  riding  upon  an  ass  and  the  people  caught 
at  once  the  significance  of  that,  as  the  ass  was  the 
animal  chosen  by  their  ancient  kings  when  they  rode 
in  state;  they  acclaimed  him  with  wild  joy  as  their 
king  and  cast  their  garments  and  the  branches  of  palm 
trees  in  the  way  before  him.  We  were  upon  the  roof 
of  the  governor's  palace  and  witnessed  the  joyous 
procession  passing  down  the  hill  and  across  the  valley 
and  entering  the  city,  we  could  hear  the  enthusiastic 
shouts  "All  hail  to  the  King."  One  of  his  ofificers 
suggested  to  Pilate  there  might  be  danger  to  his  rule 
from  this  coming  King,  but  he  answered  with  a  sneer 
* 'There  is  not  a  soldier  in  the  crowd,  nor  a  sword,  nor 
a  spear,  I  do  not  need  to  lift  a  finger  against  such  a 
King  as  that." 

Today  I  have  listened  to  another  great  oration  by 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  and  a  stronger  contrast,  both  in 
the  circumstances  and  in  the  nature  of  the  oration,  with 
that  I  heard  a  year  ago,  could  not  be  imagined.  That 
was  upon  the  hillside  near  the  Sea  of  Tiberias  and  to 
a  crowd  gathered  from  the  nearby  towns;  this  was 
in  the  court  of  the  temple,  a  more  splendid  building 


1 62  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

than  any  temple  I  have  ever  seen  or  heard  of  in  Rome 
or  in  the  wide  world,  and  to  a  crowd  from  the  capital 
city,  and  especially  to  the  leaders  of  the  people,  to  the 
nobility  of  the  nation.  That  oration  w^as  upon  the 
nobility  and  happiness  of  the  kingdom  of  self-respect, 
the  kingdom  of  God,  among  all  classes  and  races  of 
men;  this  oration  was  upon  the  degradation  and 
wretchedness  of  the  class  that  lived  for  itself  and 
oppressed  others,  that  opposed  the  kingdom  of  God  on 
earth.  In  the  morning  I  met  my  former  friends  from 
Nazareth,  they  had  come  to  the  city  with  Jesus  and 
were  now  his  devoted  followers  and  I  went  with  them 
to  the  temple. 

There  were  several  thousand  people  in  the  court  of 
the  temple,  eager  listeners  to  a  great  contest  that  was 
going  on  between  the  Rulers  of  the  temple  and  Jesus 
of  Nazareth.  The  Rulers  were  clad  in  their  robes  of 
office,  proud  of  their  place  and  their  power,  men  of 
great  ability  and  keenness  in  defending  their  position; 
he  was  clad  in  the  garb  of  the  common  people  and 
stood  unattended  and  alone  before  them  but  eager  and 
able  to  advance  his  cause.  There  were  many  things 
about  their  religion  that  I  could  not  fully  understand 
but  from  what  I  could  grasp  and  from  their  attitude 
and  from  the  expression  of  the  people  I  easily  dis- 
covered that  the  rulers  were  being  baffled  and  defeated 
in  every  position  that  they  took.  They  challenged 
him  on  several  questions  of  their  law  and  he  an- 
swered them  promptly  and  in  a  way  that  upon  that 
question  put  them  to  silence;  they  were  shown  to  be 
wrong  but  they  would  not  acknowledge  that  he  was 
right;  each  defeat  seemed  so  complete  that  it  roused 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  163 

them  only  to  still  fiercer  opposition  and  they  soon 
brought  forward  another  challenge.  I  could  not  help 
feeling  a  great  sympathy  for  them;  they  were  virtu- 
ally men  of  my  class  and,  that  they  should  be  put  to 
shame  before  the  people  they  ruled,  awakened  my 
pity.  At  length  they  were  silenced.  Jesus  had 
answered  their  last  challenge  in  such  a  way  that  the 
murmur  of  the  people  warned  them  that  their  case 
was  hopeless.  Jesus  then  turned  upon  them  and  chal- 
lenged them  with  a  question  of  their  national  and 
religious  history.  I  did  not  understand  it  fully  but  I 
w^as  amazed  at  its  effect  upon  them;  they  consulted 
with  each  other  a  long  time  and  failed  to  give  him  any 
answer  at  all.  But  it  was  quite  evident  that,  though 
he  had  answered  all  their  challenges  and  though  they 
could  not  answer  even  his  first  question,  they  were 
only  incensed  to  greater  opposition  to  him  and  his 
claims. 

There  followed  a  long  and  most  impressive  silence. 
All  wondered  what  would  come  next  but  it  was  mani- 
fest that  it  would  not  come  from  the  rulers  of  the 
temple  and  the  people :  they  were  powerless ;  it  would 
come  from  the  great  Teacher  of  Nazareth.  My 
friends  and  I  had  pressed  through  the  crowd  and 
stood  among  his  followers,  quite  near  to  him.  There 
was  the  same  Jove-like  majesty  and  power  in  the 
man  that  had  so  impressed  me  a  year  ago.  He  looked 
around  upon  his  followers  and  the  crowd  of  people, 
with  tenderness  as  a  mother  would  look  upon  her 
children ;  then  he  looked  upon  the  rulers  of  the  people 
gathered  before  him,  and  as  he  looked  all  the  tender- 
ness left  his  face  and  a  great  indignation  gathered 


1 64  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

there,  an  anger  that  blazed  in  every  feature  and  flashed 
from  his  eyes.  He  stepped  back  from  these  proud 
leaders  as  if  he  were  about  to  hurl  a  thunderbolt  to 
destroy  them,  and  when  he  spoke  there  was  in  his 
wonderful  voice  the  tone  of  a  judge  passing  an  irre- 
vocable sentence  of  destruction  upon  those  confessedly 
unworthy  to  live  among  men.  Such  a  denunciation,"^' 
I  am  sure,  never  came  from  human  lips:  a  denuncia- 
tion of  the  proud  leaders  of  the  people  in  the  very 
center  of  their  power,  in  the  temple  itself  where  they 
ruled  in  the  name  of  their  God ;  and  as  he  spoke,  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  seemed  to  be  more  than  a  man,  it  seemed 
as  if  their  God  had  taken  possession  of  him  and  spoke 
through  him. 

Again  I  wish  I  could  tell  you  the  very  words  of  his 
stern  denunciation  but  even  then  I  could  not  charge 
them  with  the  fire  of  his  wrath,  but  I  can  give  you 
only  the  impression  they  made  upon  me. 

He  denounced  them  as  having  betrayed  the  trust 
God  gave  them :  they  were  to  establish  his  kingdom  on 
earth,  instead  they  had  grasped  place  and  power  for 
themselves;  they  had  not  only  lorded  it  over  the 
people  they  were  to  have  served,  but  they  had  abused 
their  power  in  their  own  selfish  lives,  and  had  resisted 
all  efforts  made  by  others  to  establish  the  kingdom,  as 
they  were  now  resisting  him;  they  were  acting  now 
as  their  class  had  acted  in  all  past  ages,  selfishly 
elevating  themselves  and  abusing  men,  not  entering  the 
kingdom  themselves  and  not  suffering  others  to  enter, 
and  persecuting  those  who  were  trying  to  establish 
God's  kingdom  of  self-respect  among  all  men.     He 

*  Matthew,  chapter  23. 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  165 

hurled  woe  after  woe  upon  them  as  false  men,  pre- 
tending to  serve  God  and  man  when  they  only  served 
themselves.  They  stood  before  him  as  long  as  men 
could  bear  such  indignant  denunciation  and  then  they 
fled  from  his  presence.  In  an  instant  his  indignation 
gave  place  to  an  infinite  compassion,  and  with  thrilling 
tenderness  he  spoke  to  the  city  itself:  "O  Jerusalem, 
Jerusalem  which  killeth  the  prophets  and  stoneth  them 
that  are  sent  unto  thee,  how  often  would  I  have 
gathered  thy  children,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her 
chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not." 

Now  occurred  a  most  wonderful  thing.  Some  of 
his  followers  told  Jesus  that  certain  Greeks  who  had 
come  to  the  feast,  wished  to  see  him.  He  responded* 
most  graciously,  insisting  that  his  kingdom  would 
spread  as  the  light  over  the  whole  earth,  would  take 
in  all  nations,  and  all  who  followed  him  would  be 
the  children  of  light.  He  spoke  also,  of  losing  his 
own  life  for  the  kingdom,  of  laying  down  one's  life 
for  others  instead  of  making  others  live  for  oneself, 
as  the  leaders  did;  that  one  should  be  so  true  to  God 
that  he  would  live  for  and  be  willing  to  die  for  the 
establishing  his  kingdom.  Then  looking  up  to 
heaven,  a  mysterious  and  wonderful  light  shone  on 
his  face,  whether  shining  from  within,  from  conse- 
cration of  spirit,  or  from  above,  the  approval  of  his 
spirit,  who  could  tell ;  and  he  lifted  his  voice  in  adoring 
prayer :  "Father  glorify  thy  name."  Then  there  came 
a  voice  from  heaven,  I  heard  it  distinctly  and  under- 
stood the  words,  the  mysterious  voice  said  'T  have 
both  glorified  it  and  will  glorify  it  again." 

♦John  12.  20-36. 


i66  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

Here  ended  this  thrilling  day.  Do  you  wonder  that 
I  am  greatly  impressed  by  this  Jesus  of  Nazareth  and 
that  his  followers  have  full  confidence  in  him?  I 
close  this  letter  in  haste  as  tomorrow  morning  Pilate 
sends  messengers  to  Rome  and  I  will  send  it  by  them 
to  you. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  GREAT  ORATION  BY 
THE  APOSTLE  PETER 

A  Letter  from  Shemuel  the  Pharisee  to  His 
Brother  in  Alexandria 

When  you  left  us  for  your  home  on  the  morning- 
after  the  Passover  Sabbath  we  all  thought  we  had 
put  an  end  to  Jesus  of  Nazareth  and  his  phantom  king- 
dom. You  remember  how  he  denounced  us  in  the 
temple  in  the  presence  of  the  people,  denounced  us 
who  for  many  years  had  led  the  people  in  their  reli- 
gious life  and  had  maintained  the  temple- worship, 
how  you  were  justly  indignant  at  his  trying  to  place 
ignominy  upon  us,  and  how  you  acted  with  us  as  we 
speedily  brought  him  under  the  condemnation  of  our 
hightest  court  and  compelled  the  Roman  governor  to 
crucify  him.  His  deluded  followers  thought  he  had 
more  than  human  power,  that  he  led  a  charmed  life, 
but  he  and  his  power  crumbled  at  our  touch  and  he 
died  upon  the  shameful  cross.  We  could  not  indeed, 
for  a  time,  account  for  the  great  darkness  that  came 
upon  us  at  noonday  as  he  hung  upon  the  cross,  nor 
could  we  realize  its  meaning;  we  feared  it  might  be 
the  frown  of  God  upon  our  hasty  action.  You  said 
I  remember  that  such  sudden  darkness  sometimes  came 
over  the  valley  of  the  Nile  when  a  great  wind  filled  the 

167 


i68  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

whole  heavens  with  a  black  cloud  of  sand  from  the 
desert,  and  we  thought  it  might  be  something  of  that 
kind  though  there  was  no  movement  in  the  heavens, 
only  the  silent  falling  of  the  pall  of  blackness.  As  it 
lasted  hour  after  hour  we  were  more  and  more  filled 
with  awe  and  growing  dread  that  God  had  con- 
demned us.  Then  there  came  that  terrible  cry  from 
Jesus  on  the  cross,  "My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me?"  Now  we  understood  the  awful  dark- 
ness; God  had  indeed  frowned,  but  not  upon  us  the 
leaders  of  his  people,  but  upon  Jesus.  Then  the  dark- 
ness passed  away,  we  were  again  confident,  strong  in 
the  sunlight;  but  Jesus  was  already  dead:  the  frown 
of  God  had  killed  him. 

So  we  rested  in  peace  on  the  Sabbath  day,  you  with 
us  in  our  home  and  in  the  temple  of  our  God,  and  early 
the  next  morning  you  left  us  for  Egypt.  You  scarcely 
could  have  been  out  of  sight  of  Jerusalem  when  a  won- 
derful rumor  spread  through  the  city  that  Jesus  had 
risen  from  the  dead.  Some  of  our  leading  men  had 
heard  that  Jesus  had  said  he  could  not  be  held  of  death 
and  they  had  persuaded  the  Roman  governor  to  seal 
the  tomb  and  place  a  guard  about  it  so  that  his  fol- 
lowers could  not  possibly  steal  the  body  and  then  say 
he  had  risen  from  the  dead.  After  bidding  you  fare- 
well at  the  western  gate  I  had  gone  to  the  palace  of 
the  high  priest  and  was  present  with  several  others 
when  the  Roman  guard  brought  their  report.  Romans 
as  they  were,  they  seemed  bewildered  with  terror; 
most  of  the  ten  men  had  been  sleeping  on  the  ground, 
but  two  had  been  marching  to  and  fro  before  the  great 
stone   slab   that   closed   the   entrance   into   the   rock 


PETER  AT  PENTECOST  169 

sepulchre;  there  had  come  an  earthquake  shock  that 
woke  the  sleepers  and  they  had  all  seen  an  angel,  a 
being  of  light,  and  glorious  strength,  come  down  from 
heaven;  he  fearlessly  rolled  away  the  stone  and  sat 
upon  it;  and  with  a  look  of  scorn,  he  cast  down  the 
soldiers  to  the  ground.  When  they  recovered,  one  by 
one,  they  fled  from  the  tomb  and  came  to  the  high 
priest.  Their  terror  communicated  itself  to  us,  we 
saw  our  dismal  failure,  and  dreaded  that  others  should 
see  it  too,  as  soon  they  must. 

The  next  morning  I  was  again  at  the  palace  of  the 
high  priest,  as  were  many  others  of  our  leaders,  in 
much  trepidation  but  eager  to  hear  what  further  news 
there  might  be  of  this  marvelous  event.  There  I  met 
John,  the  son  of  Zebedee,  he  is  a  cousin  of  the  high 
priest  you  know,  very  intimate  with  him  and  a  fre- 
quent visitor  at  the  palace.  He  is  also  an  ardent  be- 
liever in  Jesus  of  Nazareth  and  has  been  very  close 
to  him  for  about  three  years,  has  followed  him  con- 
stantly in  his  journeying  through  Judea  and  Galilee 
and  lived  in  very  familiar  companionship  with  him. 
He  is,  as  you  know,  a  very  intelligent  man  of  rich  gifts 
of  speech,  charm  of  manner,  and  absolutely  clear 
truthfulness  of  character.  I  know  of  no  one  I  respect 
more  highly  or  trust  more  implicitly,  and  the  high 
priest  has  the  same  regard  for  him  and  confidence  in 
him.  We  have  wondered  and  been  grieved  that  he 
should  be  a  follower  of  Jesus  and  should  have  adopted 
his  views  about  the  kingdom  of  God,  so  different  from 
ours,  but  we  respect  his  sincerity  and  loyalty.  The 
other  leaders  had  left  the  palace,  I  remained  for  a 
while  with  the  high  priest  when  John  came  and  was 


I70  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

admitted  at  once  to  our  presence.  He  was  in  much 
excitement  and  eager  with  joy.  He  had  been  in  deep 
sorrow  and  depression  the  day  after  the  crucifixion 
of  Jesus:  a  broken,  disappointed  man;  now  he  was 
elated  and  triumphant  and  he  seemed  confident  that 
what  had  changed  him  would  change  us.  He  told  us 
in  his  eager,  graphic  way  of  his  experience  of  the  day 
before;  he  had  heard  the  rumor  that  Jesus  was  risen 
from  the  dead  and  had  hastened  to  the  tomb ;  he  found 
it  empty :  there  was  no  sign  of  any  violence  or  disorder 
or  even  of  haste.  The  stone  door  was  rolled  away 
and  he  had  entered  the  tomb;  the  grave-clothes  were 
folded  in  order  and  left  behind,  but  the  body  of  Jesus 
was  not  there.  During  the  day  he  had  talked  with 
several  women  of  their  number  who,  early  in  the 
morning,  had  seen  two  angels  at  the  tomb  who  had 
told  them  that  Jesus  was  risen  from  the  dead ;  later  he 
spoke  with  Mary  Magdalene,  a  very  devoted  follower 
of  Jesus,  who  told  him  that  she  had  seen  and  talked 
with  him;  and  still  later  Peter,  another  of  his  dis- 
ciples and  very  intimate  with  John,  had  assured  him 
that  he  had  seen  Jesus  that  very  day  alive  and  well. 

When  evening  came,  John  and  other  close  followers 
of  Jesus  were  assembled  together;  while  they  were 
eagerly  talking  of  what  they  had  seen  and  heard  that 
day,  two  disciples  who  had  walked  from  the  village 
of  Emmaus,  came  into  the  room  and  gave  them  a 
vivid  account  of  their  having  had  a  long  talk  with 
Jesus  on  their  way  to  Emmaus  and  of  their  having 
shared  their  evening  meal  with  him  and  then  he  had 
vanished  away  from  their  sight :  they  had  not  recog- 
nized him  until  he  broke  bread  with  them,  they  did 


PETER  AT  PENTECOST  171 

not  know  how  he  had  vanished  from  them,  but  they 
were  sure  they  had  seen  him  ahve  and  well  and  had 
talked  with  him.  Then  John  told  us  that  while  the 
disciples  were  astonished  at  what  they  had  heard 
Jesus  himself  was  present  with  them;  how  he  came 
they  did  not  know,  not  through  the  door  for  that  was 
locked,  but  he  was  there  and  he  spoke  to  them  about 
the  kingdom  he  and  they  were  to  establish ;  to  remove 
all  possible  doubt  from  their  minds  that  it  was  he  him- 
self and  no  other,  and  no  mere  spirit,  he  showed  them 
his  pierced  hands  and  feet  and  his  spear-thrust  side, 
and  he  also  ate  an  humble  meal  with  them  as  he  had 
so  long  been  accustomed  to  do.  John  said  he  remained 
with  them  an  hour  or  more,  that  he  spoke  as  freely 
to  them  and  moved  about  among  them  as  freely  as 
he  had  done  a  week  before,  that  it  was  the  same  Jesus 
in  his  action,  his  speech,  the  tone  of  his  voice,  the 
look  of  his  eyes,  his  whole  manner  and  appearance  and 
especially  in  his  thoughts  and  feelings,  in  his  whole 
personality.  He  had  seen  Jesus  and  recognized  him 
as  fully,  and  Jesus  had  seen  him  and  been  as  close  and 
familiar  to  him  only  a  few  hours  before  he  was  speak- 
ing to  us,  as  he  had  been  during  the  past  three  years. 
He  knew  Jesus  had  been  dead  for  he  had  helped  take 
him  down  from  the  cross  and  bury  him,  he  knew  that 
no  man  could  possibly  live  with  such  a  spear-thrust  in 
his  side.  Just  as  certainly  he  knew  that  Jesus  had 
risen  from  the  dead,  he  had  seen  him  and  talked  with 
him  the  night  before,  three  days  after  his  burial. 

There  was  something  mysterious  about  him  he  ac- 
knowledged, he  appeared  and  disappeared  at  will,  he 
still  had  the  spear-thrust  in  his  side,  but  he  who  was 


172  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

dead  lived  again.  "I  have  seen  him,"  he  said.  *T  have 
heard  him.  I  have  touched  him.  I  am  sure  he  is  the 
same  Jesus  I  have  known  so  long  and  so  well.  He  is 
alive  who  was  dead.  He  is,  as  he  said,  the  Son  of  God. 
The  grave  could  not  hold  him.  He  is  risen  from  the 
dead." 

We  were  astonished  at  this  story  of  John,  the  high- 
priest  seemed  deeply  impressed  and  greatly  alarmed. 
We  could  not  question  John's  sincerity  or  the  strength 
of  his  conviction.  After  John  left  us  we  consulted 
long  together.  What  can  be  the  meaning  of  this? 
What  will  the  outcome  be?  Can  it  be  possible  that 
Jesus  was  more  than  human,  that  God  had  sent  him 
to  teach  about  his  kingdom,  that  God  approved  of 
him?  Then  what  meant  the  darkness  at  the  cruci- 
fixion, was  it  God's  frown  upon  us  ?  But  what  meant 
that  despairing  cry  of  Jesus  upon  the  cross?  We  were 
bewildered  and  in  great  trepidation.  Was  it  possible 
that  we  had  sent  the  Lord's  Christ  to  the  cross  ?  Was 
it  possible  that  he  had  risen  from  the  dead?  What 
would  he  do  now?  What  would  happen  next?  We 
could  only  wait  and  see. 

As  we  waited  day  after  day  our  apprehension  in- 
creased and  spread  through  the  whole  city.  Days 
would  pass  when  we  heard  nothing ;  but  the  silence  was 
oppressive,  it  awakened  expectation  of  some  mys- 
terious presence,  of  some  impending  event  that  could 
not  be  guarded  against  or  warded  off,  that  must  come 
upon  us. 

Thus  from  one  and  another  intimate  friend  of  Jesus 
would  come  an  account  of  another  meeting  with  him 
who  had  risen  from  the  dead,  sometimes  he  had  been 


PETER  AT  PENTECOST  173 

seen  by  a  large  number  at  a  time,  and  always  they  were 
sure  it  was  Jesus  who  had  met  with  them,  and  always 
he  had  spoken  to  them  of  the  kingdom  he  was  to  estab- 
lish among  men. 

But  there  was  always  the  same  mystery  about  him, 
he  appeared  without  warning,  unexpectedly,  and  he 
vanished  from  their  sight  in  the  same  mysterious  way ; 
and  none  of  them  could  tell  where  he  abode  when  they 
did  not  see  him,  no  one  could  tell  how  to  meet  him 
or  where.  He  might  meet  them  at  any  time  or  in 
any  place  but  it  altogether  depended  upon  his  will. 
So  his  followers  came  to  feel  that  he  might  be  present 
with  them  though  they  could  not  see  him,  and  that 
he  might  at  any  time  appear  to  them  and  speak  to 
them.  This  feeling  of  a  mysterious  presence  and  of 
an  impending  appearance  spread  among  the  people 
generally  so  the  whole  city  became  oppressed  with  it; 
and  it  especially  took  possession  of  our  hearts  who  had 
led  the  people  to  crucify  him.  The  followers  of  Jesus, 
while  they  were  awed  by  the  all-pervading  feeling  in 
their  hearts,  seemed  to  long  for  his  appearance  and  for 
further  instruction  about  the  kingdom;  but  we,  who 
had  opposed  his  kingdom  and  had  crucified  him, 
dreaded  with  an  ever-increasing  fear  his  suddenly  ap- 
pearing to  us. 

About  ten  days  ago  the  most  marvelous  thing  oc- 
curred so  marvelous  that  we  would  not  find  it  possible 
to  believe  it  had  we  not  been  assured  by  the  witnessing 
of  men  in  whom  we  have  confidence,  the  followers 
of  Jesus  who  had  already  told  of  his  being  alive  from 
the  dead,  and  now,  especially,  by  the  evidence  given 
us  by  two  members  of  our  highest  court.     You  re- 


174  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

member  there  were  two  members  of  the  court  who 
opposed  sentencing  Jesus  to  death,  and  after  his  death 
these  two  men  took  charge  largely  of  his  burial;  they 
were  believers  in  Jesus  and  in  his  kingdom.  These 
two  honorable  members  of  our  court,  Joseph  of 
Arimathea  and  Nicodemus,  some  ten  days  ago  were 
with  many  other  followers  of  Jesus  when  he  met  them 
in  this  city ;  he  had  a  long  and  very  intimate  talk  with 
them  about  his  kingdom;  they  asked  him  many  ques- 
tions, he  gave  them  very  clear  answers.  He  told  them 
they  were  to  stay  in  Jerusalem  until  they  received 
power  from  God  from  heaven  and  that  then  they  were 
to  establish  his  kingdom  here  in  Jerusalem  and  in  all 
Judea,  after  that  in  Samaria  and  even  to  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth.  He  assured  them  that  he  was  the 
promised  Messiah,  the  great  King,  and  that  his  king- 
dom was  to  begin  in  Jerusalem  but  was  to  spread  his 
rule  over  all  nations,  that  it  was  for  all  mankind.  He 
then  led  them  out  of  the  city  towards  Bethany  and 
when  they  had  reached  the  brow  of  the  Mount  of 
Olives  he  paused,  and  while  he  still  talked  with  them 
in  loving  counsel,  and  while  they  looked  upon  him  with 
adoring  gaze,  he  lifted  up  his  hands  and  blessed  them, 
and  as  he  blessed  them  he  slowly  rose  from  the  earth 
and  as  they  looked  he  ascended  into  the  heavens  and 
a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their  sight.  Now  as  they 
looked  up  steadfastly  into  heaven  two  angels  in  shining 
apparel  stood  by  them  and  said,  *This  same  Jesus 
which  has  just  been  received  up  into  heaven  shall  so 
come  in  like  manner  as  ye  beheld  him  going  into 
heaven." 

These  ten  days  have  been  filled  with  an  intense  ex- 


PETER  AT  PENTECOST  175 

pectation,  the  whole  city  has  been  possessed  by  it; 
ordinary  affairs  have  of  course  gone  on  as  usual,  as 
they  must  always  do,  but  there  has  been  little  interest 
in  them.  The  followers  of  Jesus  have  been  waiting 
and  longing  for  the  promised  power  from  God,  for 
the  promised  return  of  Jesus  from  heaven,  and  for 
the  triumphant  establishment  of  his  kingdom.  The 
people  generally  and  especially  we,  the  leaders  of  the 
people,  have  been  waiting  with  dread  for  some  awful 
manifestation  of  God's  wrath.  Our  confidence  that 
we  were  right  in  sentencing  Jesus  to  death  has  been 
displaced  by  a  terrible  fear  that  we  have  crucified  the 
God-appointed  King  and  that  he  will  come  to  inflict 
his  sentence  upon  us.  Now  this  morning  the  expected 
has  happened  but  in  such  a  strange  way  that  I  can 
hardly  describe  it.  There  has  been  a  great  concourse 
of  people  in  the  temple  courts  at  the  close  of  the  morn- 
ing's sacrifice,  and  the  most  intense  excitement,  people 
swayed  by  a  vast  power  to  strange  unheard-of  actions. 
I  have  witnessed  the  most  wonderful  events  and  have 
been  swept  along  by  them,  I  have  just  heard  the  most 
thrilling  oration  ever  uttered,*  I  am  sure,  and  have 
been  swayed  by  its  mysterious  power  and  have  wit- 
nessed its  stupendous  effects. 

It  seems  many  followers  of  Jesus  were  assembled 
early  this  morning  in  their  usual  place  in  the  temple 
and  were  praying  to  God  to  give  them  power  to  estab- 
lish his  kingdom  when  there  was  a  sound  of  a  rushing, 
mighty  wind  from  heaven  and  an  appearance  of 
tongues  of  fire  resting  upon  each  one  of  them  and  they 
were  all  filled  with  a  mysterious  force  that  impelled 

*  The  Acts,  2d  chapter. 


176  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

them  to  speak  the  praises  of  God  in  proclaiming  his 
kingdom.  The  multitude  of  the  people  assembling  for 
the  morning  sacrifice  heard  the  sound  of  the  rushing 
wind  from  heaven  and  saw  the  tongues  of  fire  upon  the 
brows  of  these  men,  and  they  quickly  gathered  about 
them  and  were  amazed  at  their  courage,  enthusiasm 
and  gifts  of  speech;  the  most  wonderful  thing  of  all 
was  that  the  men  of  different  nations,  for  there  were 
many  such  assembled  at  the  feast,  heard  these  men 
who  proclaimed  the  kingdom  of  God  each  speak  in  his 
own  language  wherein  he  was  born.  All  the  followers 
of  Jesus  seemed  to  share  equally  the  marvelous  power 
from  on  high,  and  each  one  seemed  qualified  to  speak 
in  the  needed  tongue  of  the  nation  he  addressed :  the 
message  of  the  kingdom  was  thereby  addressed  to  all 
men  of  all  nations  equally  for  the  kingdom  was  pro- 
claimed for  all  mankind. 

While  there  were  a  few  among  the  followers  of 
Jesus  who  were  of  the  upper  ranks,  the  leaders  of  the 
people,  the  large  number  of  them  were  rude,  uncul- 
tured men,  peasants  from  Galilee,  the  lower  class  of 
people,  but  they  all  shared  alike  in  this  mysterious 
power:  Joseph  of  Arimathea  and  Nicodemus  and  the 
slaves  from  their  households  alike  had  this  gift  from 
God.  We,  the  leaders  of  the  people,  had  always 
thought  we  were  appointed  of  God  to  be  above  the 
mass  of  the  people,  to  rule  over  and  to  lead  them 
in  religion  and  in  all  the  affairs  of  life,  to  live  in  the 
ease  and  enjoyment  of  luxury  and  to  move  in  the  lofty 
realm  of  thought,  while  the  common  people  were  to 
labor  with  their  hands  and  to  be  content  if  they  had 
the  necessaries  of  life.    We  had  instinctively  felt  that 


PETER  AT  PENTECOST  177 

the  kingdom  of  God  that  Jesus  was  trying  to  establish 
would  overthrow  our  leadership  not  only  but  would 
lift  up  the  lower  ranks  of  life  in  a  gradual  development 
of  their  powers,  would  give  them  self-respect  and  a 
regard  for  the  rights  of  all  that  would  make  them 
above  the  need  of  our  leadership.  This  increased  and 
intensified  our  antagonism  to  Jesus  until  we  had  him 
crucified  by  the  Romans;  we  thought  in  this  we  were 
advancing  and  protecting  our  God-given  rights,  that 
God  was  with  us ;  and  the  Romans,  who  acted  with  us, 
had  the  same  instinctive  opposition  to  Jesus  from  their 
position  of  leadership  in  worldly  power.  Then  came 
the  resurrection  of  Christ  and  our  dreadful  fear  that 
God  condemned  us;  now  this  wonderful  power  from 
on  high  was  given  to  form  this  new  kingdom.  The 
excitement  was  almost  overpowering  for  most  of  us 
felt  awe  in  the  presence  of  this  gift  so  evidently  from 
God  and  were  greatly  perplexed  by  the  position  in 
which  it  placed  us ;  though  there  were  some  who  tried 
to  account  for  the  enthusiasm  of  the  followers  of  Jesus 
by  saying  they  were  full  of  new  wine. 

At  last  Peter,  a  special  friend  of  Jesus,  one  who 
had  been  intimate  with  him  during  the  years  of  his 
public  life  of  teaching,  stood  upon  the  platform  in 
the  court  of  the  temple  and  with  a  loud  voice  called 
all  the  people  to  listen  to  him.  His  is  the  oration  I 
must  describe  to  you. 

He  spoke  from  the  first  as  if  his  power  came  from 
God  and  he  simply  poured  it  out  upon  our  minds  and 
hearts  with  the  utmost  conviction  and  confidence  that 
it  would  take  possession  of  us  and  fully  control  us,  as 
it  controlled  him.    - 


178  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

He  was  a  tall  and  powerful  looking  man,  clothed  in 
the  garb  of  the  common  people,  evidently  one  of  them ; 
he  had  a  ringing,  far-reaching  voice,  a  flashing  eye, 
and  much  animation  of  manner.  He  roused  our  at- 
tention at  once,  then  held  us  spellbound  by  his  earnest, 
sincere  effort  to  show  all  of  us  the  meaning  of  the 
marvelous  experience  we  were  having.  "These  men 
and  women,"  he  said,  "as  you  all  know,  are  the  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  They  are  possessed,  as 
you  see,  with  a  vast,  mysterious  power.  This  power  is 
not  that  of  new  wine,  you  recognize  that  explanation 
as  absurd,  impossible.  What  is  it  then,  that  these  com- 
mon people,  uncultured,  uneducated,  should  suddenly 
be  raised  to  this  lofty  plane  of  speaking  and  acting? 
There  is  absolutely  but  one  way  of  accounting  for  it. 
This  is  the  fulfillment  of  God's  promise  to  you  by  his 
prophet  Joel,  that  he  would  pour  out  his  Spirit  upon 
all  flesh.  Consider  how  Joel  describes  this  gift,  and 
how  that  which  you  are  witnessing  exactly  corresponds 
to  his  description :  your  sons  and  your  daughters  shall 
prophesy,  and  you  witness  it :  not  a  few,  not  here  and 
there  one,  a  learned  man,  a  scribe,  a  pharisee,  a  priest 
has  been  made  a  prophet;  but  all  the  followers  of 
Jesus,  the  humblest  as  well  as  the  highest,  all  your  sons 
and  daughters  who  follow  him,  all  flesh.  Your  young 
men  see  visions,  your  old  men  dream  dreams;  yea, 
even  the  slaves,  the  bondmen  and  bondmaidens,  upon 
them  will  I  pour  my  Spirit  and  they  shall  prophesy. 
And  God  declares  that  he  will  overturn  in  the  heavens 
above  and  among  the  powers  of  the  earth,  working 
such  changes  among  the  nations  in  establishing  his 
kingdom  in  the  earth,  and  that  whosoever  shall  call 


PETER  AT  PENTECOST  179 

upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved.  The  king- 
dom is  not  for  any  particular  class  nor  for  any  par- 
ticular race,  it  is  for  all  men,  whosoever  will  call  upon 
the  name  of  the  Lord.  These  followers  of  Jesus  have 
the  spirit  of  God  and  they,  as  you  all  witness,  are 
prophesying,  are  proclaiming  the  kingdom  among 
men." 

Then  this  common  man  Peter,  with  quiet  courage, 
earnestness,  and  absolute  faithfulness  to  his  Lord  and 
his  mission,  turned  to  us,  the  leaders  of  the  people  and 
to  those  we  had  led,  and  charged  us  with  the  death 
of  Jesus.  "You  know,  ye  men  of  Israel,  that  God 
approved  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  by  mighty  works  and 
wonders  and  signs,  yet  you,  in  the  face  of  such  knowl- 
edge, have  taken  him  and  crucified  him.  But  God  has 
raised  him  from  the  dead;  of  this  your  great  king, 
David  spoke,  not  of  himself,  for  as  you  know  he  is 
dead  and  buried  and  his  tomb  is  with  us  to  this  day, 
but  of  one  greater  even  than  he,  that  God  would  raise 
him  from  the  dead.  Not  only  did  God  raise  Jesus 
from  the  dead  but  he  has  exalted  him  to  his  right  hand. 
David  has  not  ascended  into  heaven  but  he  said,  *The 
Lord  said  unto  my  Lord  sit  thou  on  my  right  hand 
until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool.'  Let  all  the 
house  of  Israel  know  therefore  that  God  hath  made 
this  Jesus  whom  you  crucified  both  Lord  and  Christ. 
This  Lord  and  Christ,  exalted  at  the  right  hand  of 
God  in  heaven,  hath  poured  forth  his  Spirit  upon  his 
followers  as  ye  see  and  hear.'* 

We  were  not  only  swayed  by  this  speech  of  Peter, 
we  were  crushed  by  it.  We  felt  that,  in  our  proud 
and  arrogant  resistance  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  we  had 


i8o  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

resisted  God;  that  we  had  blindly  and  wickedly  re- 
jected the  great  Teacher  sent  from  God ;  that  we  had, 
in  our  desperate  sinfulness,  crucified  the  Son  of  God, 
our  promised  Messiah,  our  divine  King.  There  was 
no  possibility  of  evading  the  charge,  there  was  no 
possibility  of  finding  any  justification  or  excuse,  there 
was  no  possibility  of  flying  from  the  just  indignation 
of  him  who  was  exalted  at  the  right  hand  of  God, 
there  was  no  possibility  of  escaping  the  wrath  of  God 
against  our  guilt.  Strong  men,  conscience-stricken, 
broke  down ;  proud  leaders  of  the  people  came  to  these 
humble  followers  of  Jesus  for  counsel  and  help ;  phari- 
sees,  priests,  as  well  as  the  mass  of  the  people  came  to 
them  saying,  "Brethren,  brethren,  what  shall  we  do?" 

Now  Peter  with  his  companions,  while  triumphantly 
vindicated  in  their  loyalty  to  Christ,  had  a  brotherly 
feeling  toward  us,  the  conscience-stricken.  He  ex- 
horted us  to  repent  and  to  trust  in  Jesus  as  our  Lord 
and  King ;  he  promised  us  that  we  should  be  welcomed 
into  the  kingdom  and  should  share  in  the  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  qualify  us  to  spread  this  kingdom 
in  the  whole  earth. 

Wonderful  has  been  the  change  wrought  in  me  and 
in  many  others  by  this  great  speech  of  Peter.  I,  who 
when  you  were  here  a  few  weeks  ago  enlisted  your 
help  in  bringing  Jesus  of  Nazareth  to  the  Roman  cross, 
now  write  this  full  account  of  my  change  that  I  may 
enlist  you  also  to  become  the  follower  with  me  of  him 
who  was  raised  from  the  dead,  who  is  exalted  at  the 
right  hand  of  God,  who  has  poured  out  his  Spirit  upon 
his  disciples.  I  beseech  of  you  to  own  him  who  is  the 
rightful  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  STORY  OF  A  GREAT  ORATION  BY  THE 
APOSTLE  PAUL 

A   Letter   from    Dionysius   the   Areopagite   to 
Aristobulus,  a  Nobleman  in  Rome 

You  probably  have  still  fresh  in  mind  some  of  the 
impressions  Athens  made  upon  you  when,  recently, 
you  spent  a  few  days  with  me  upon  your  return  from 
the  province  of  Macedonia  of  which  you  had  been  the 
governor  for  several  years.  You  remember  the  groves 
of  philosophy  and  some  of  the  questions  we  heard 
discussed  by  the  various  schools  of  the  Epicureans 
and  the  Stoics.  You  remember  the  many  temples  and 
statues  of  the  gods  in  the  city  and  how  devout  the 
great  numbers  of  the  people  were,  often  contending 
for  the  worth  of  the  many  gods  of  our  inheritance, 
while  a  few  stood  aloof  in  proud  disdain.  You  re- 
member the  great  market-place  where  large  numbers 
of  our  citizens  gathered  to  hear  the  news  or  to  hear 
great  causes  advocated  by  our  orators.  You  remember 
how  our  city,  beautiful  for  situation,  had  been  adorned 
by  the  genius  of  many  artists  through  past  ages  with 
magnificent  buildings  and  splendid  statues.  You  re- 
member how  you  were  impressed  by  the  eager  intel- 
lectual life  throbbing  here,  and  by  the  taste  for  beauty 
and  culture  which  abounded  among  the  guests  I  gath- 

i8l 


i82  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

ered  to  meet  you  in  my  palace.  Now  I  write  to  tell 
you  of  a  most  eloquent  oration  that  I  recently  heard 
and  of  the  great  change  it  has  wrought  in  my  life. 

I  think  I  told  you  how  our  highest  court  is  composed 
and  of  its  jurisdiction.  When  one  has  served  as 
Archon  or  ruler  of  Athens  for  one  year  and  his  admin- 
istration has  been  entirely  for  the  good  of  the  city 
and  his  private  life  has  been  without  reproach,  he  be- 
comes a  member  of  the  Court  of  the  Areopagus  for 
life.  I  have  been  a  member  of  this  court  for  the  past 
seven  years  and  there  are  now  associated  with  me 
fifteen  others  who  have  attained  this  high  honor  and 
important  office.  There  have  been  but  few  Archons  in 
our  history  who  have  not  stood  this  test,  and  they  have 
been  driven  into  obscurity  by  their  greed  and  corrup- 
tion. 

For  many  hundred  years  this  court  has  been  the 
highest  in  Greece ;  it  has  had  jurisdiction  not  only  over 
the  affairs  of  Athens  but  questions  have  been  sub- 
mitted to  it  from  the  other  states  of  Greece  and  from 
other  nations.  Since  you  Romans  have  conquered 
Greece  and  all  other  nations  our  jurisdiction  has  been 
limited  to  Athens  itself,  but  your  government  has 
recognized  and  upheld  our  court  as  worthy  of  the  high 
honor  of  supremacy  here. 

One  of  the  great  questions  to  be  decided  by  this 
court  is  that  of  religion.  What  new  feature  of  a  reli- 
gion or  what  new  kind  of  religion  shall  be  permitted 
in  Athens  must  be  finally  decided  by  our  court.  Re- 
cently a  man  called  Paul,  the  apostle  or  sent-messenger 
of  Jesus  Christ,  has  been  publicly  proclaiming  the  reli- 
gion of  Christ  in  the  city  and  has  awakened  such  an 


PAUL  IN  ATHENS  183 

interest  in  it  that  some  of  the  philosophers  and  leading 
men  called  together  the  Court  of  the  Areopagus  and 
brought  him  before  us.  Our  meeting-place  is  on  the 
top  of  Mars'  Hill,  where  a  large  space  has  been  cut 
out,  in  the  solid  rock,  nearly  circular  in  form.  In  this 
open  space  the  suitors  gather  before  the  court,  which 
sits  upon  the  bench  hewn  from  the  rock.  The  sky  is 
the  only  roof.  The  magnificence  and  stir  of  the  city 
is  at  a  distance,  amid  bare  surroundings  the  court  is 
lifted  up  into  the  silence  of  the  sky;  it  there  hears  and 
decides  its  cases.  There  are  no  buildings  or  statues 
upon  Mars'  Hill  but  the  associations  of  the  place  are 
very  stimulating,  there  for  many  hundred  years  our 
court  has  heard  its  important  cases,  and  there,  in  the 
beginning  of  our  history  and  the  history  of  our  gods, 
occurred  the  great  trial  of  Mars  himself  before  the 
many  gods,  his  peers,  when  he  was  charged  by  Nep- 
tune with  the  murder  of  his  son.  Mars  was  acquitted 
by  the  gods  since  the  killing  of  the  son  of  Neptune  had 
been  done  in  battle,  in  honorable  warfare;  and  so  the 
hill  itself  bears  his  name  since  he  was  vindicated  in 
the  first  great  trial  held  there.  Sometimes  our  court 
holds  its  session  in  the  night-time  in  order  that  the 
judges  may  not  be  swayed  by  the  personal  bearing  of 
the  suitor  and  especially  may  not  be  charmed  by  his 
art,  the  action  perhaps  of  a  fine  orator,  but  may  decide 
dispassionately  upon  the  clear  statements  made  before 
them. 

In  this  case  the  court  was  called  to  meet  two  hours 
after  sunset.  Those  who  had  heard  Paul  speak  in  the 
marketplace  said  that  a  large  part  of  his  persuasive 
power  was  due  to  the  evident  fact  that  his  cause  had 


i84  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

full  possession  of  him,  it  expressed  itself  not  only  in 
the  words  he  uttered  but,  in  his  great  emotion,  it  shone 
in  his  face  and  flashed  from  his  eyes,  it  swayed  his 
body  and  called  forth  the  most  stirring  gestures  so 
that  the  whole  man  was  filled  with  the  eloquence  of 
his  message.  In  order  that  the  court  might  judge  dis- 
passionately on  such  an  important  matter  it  was 
deemed  best  that  we  should  not  be  too  much  under 
the  spell  of  such  an  orator.  Some  of  my  own  friends 
and  a  few  of  the  most  intelligent  slaves  of  my  house- 
hold had  been  persuaded  to  accept  this  new  religion, 
and  their  description  of  the  advocate  showed  me  that 
much  of  his  influence  came  from  his  personality,  as 
much,  perhaps  more,  than  from  the  reasonableness  of 
his  message. 

On  this  occasion  I  went  to  our  place  of  meeting  by 
way  of  the  Acropolis.  You  remember  this  hill  back 
of  our  city  is  splendidly  adorned  with  temples  and 
statues  and  the  walks  through  the  groves  have  all  the 
charm  that  nature  and  art  can  give  them.  As  I  left 
the  market-place  and,  by  the  broadest  avenue  of  the 
city,  approached  the  hill  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
bright,  golden  spear-head  of  the  colossal  statue  of 
Athene,  the  masterpiece  of  our  greatest  sculptor, 
Phidias,  which  stands  near  the  summit.  This  spear- 
head can  be  seen  far  out  at  sea  by  the  sailors  returning 
from  their  voyages  of  adventure  or  profit,  and  this 
evening  it  had  caught  the  last  rays  of  the  setting  sun 
and  flashed  in  my  eyes  for  a  few  minutes  and  then  was 
lost  among  the  tree-tops.  As  I,  climbing  the  hill, 
passed  through  the  groves  and  by  the  many  statues 
and  temples,  I  was  impressed  as  so  often  before  by 


PAUL  IN  ATHENS  185 

our  splendid  history,  by  the  stories  of  gods  and  men 
in  their  struggles  for  place  and  power  from  the  early 
beginnings  of  time.  Then  before  me,  crowning  the 
hill,  appeared  the  Parthenon,  that  great  temple  to 
Minerva,  builded  during  the  golden  period  of  our  his- 
tory, by  Pericles  one  of  our  most  gifted  sons.  In 
perfect  proportions  and  made  of  the  softly  glowing 
Pentelic  marble,  this  is  the  finest  piece  of  architecture 
in  all  the  world. 

And  as  I  looked  I  thought  again  of  that  great  battle 
of  the  gods  fought  here  before  the  city  was  built. 
Neptune,  the  god  of  the  stormy  seas  conquering  the 
earth,  and  Minerva,  goddess  of  peaceful  lands  adorn- 
ing the  earth,  fought  to  decide  which  should  be  the 
builder  and  patron  of  the  future  city.  Athene,  the 
victor  gave  her  name  to  the  city  and  our  world-famed 
Parthenon  is  fittingly  dedicated  to  Athene  Minerva, 
the  goddess  of  wisdom.  Surely  he  who  is  a  member 
of  the  highest  court  of  Athens  should  be  wise  to  hear 
and  to  decide  upon  the  causes  coming  before  it.  I 
then  passed  on  down  the  hill,  crossed  the  narrow,  shal- 
low valley,  climbed  the  hill  of  Mars  and  took  my  seat 
on  the  stone  bench  of  the  court  of  the  Areopagus. 
It  was  yet  early  and  I  was  for  a  little  while  alone.  I 
could  hear  the  faint  murmur  of  the  city,  lying  at  the 
feet  of  the  two  hills,  growing  fainter  as  the  evening 
advanced.  I  could  see  the  outlines  of  the  Parthenon, 
standing  out  against  the  evening  sky,  growing  indis- 
tinct as  the  evening  shadows  gathered  and  the  night 
took  possession  of  the  earth.  Soon  the  heavens  were 
filled  with  stars ;  what  were  they,  those  bodies  of  light 
filling  the  dark  heavens ;  were  they  the  dwelling-places 


i86  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

of  the  gods  when  they  wearied  of  the  mountain-tops 
and  the  groves  and  the  streams  and  the  seas  of  the 
earth,  when  they  grew  tired  of  the  ways  of  mankind 
and  withdrew  to  their  homes  of  Hght  and  looked  down 
upon  the  remote  earth  and  its  Httle  doings?  Surely 
the  gods  were  not  merely  of  the  far-gone  past,  they 
were  present  now  and  must  be  greatly  interested  as 
our  court  was  about  to  hear  the  claims  of  a  new  reli- 
gion to  the  favor  of  our  city. 

As  the  hour  approached  my  colleagues  gathered  and 
took  their  places,  not  one  was  missing,  and  the  dark- 
ness and  silence  of  night  covered  Mars'  Hill. 

Then  we  saw  a  number  of  dim  figures  gathering  in 
the  open  space  before  us,  the  leading  men  of  the  city 
had  brought  Paul  to  plead  his  cause ;  and  one  of  them, 
in  a  few  well-chosen  words,  craved  from  us  a  patient 
hearing  of  what  he  called  the  most  remarkable  claim 
that  had  ever  been  presented  to  our  court. 

There  were  several  things  about  the  great  orator  and 
his  wonderful  oration*  that,  from  the  first  word, 
impressed  me  with  ever-increasing  power.  We  could 
not  see  him,  except  vaguely  as  standing  on  a  platform 
a  little  above  the  others ;  we  could  not  discern  whether 
he  were  tall  or  short,  heavy  or  light,  straight  or 
crooked,  we  could  not  see  his  face  whether  noble  or 
marred,  we  could  not  see  the  pose  of  his  body  nor  the 
gestures  he  made,  only  that  he  moved  actively ;  but  we 
could  hear  his  voice  without  missing  a  single  word  or 
a  single  tone,  a  wonderful  voice  that  stirred  thought 
and  feeling,  that  set  all  the  fibers  of  our  being  tingling 
with  its  varied  power,  we  were  at  once  under  its  spell. 

•  The  Acts  17.  16-34. 


PAUL  IN  ATHENS  187 

While  this  spell  increased  as  he  went  on  with  his 
oration  we  no  longer  thought  of  it  or  of  him  at  all 
but  only  of  what  he  said.  Then  there  grew  upon  us 
the  impression  that  he  was  not  so  much  arguing  a 
cause  before  a  court  to  gain  our  favorable  verdict  to 
permit  him  to  proclaim  it  in  the  city,  as  that  he  was 
trying  to  persuade  each  one  of  us  to  believe  in  his 
cause;  he  was  trying  to  pour  his  conviction,  his  emo- 
tion into  our  minds  and  hearts  to  turn  us  away  from 
all  our  inherited  beliefs  and  life-long  practices  and  to 
believe  and  act  with  him  in  accepting  the  new  religion. 
The  very  boldness  of  his  effort  won  our  admiration. 
Not  only  did  he  make  this  attempt  but  he  seemed 
assured  that  he  would  accomplish  it ;  he  had  such  con- 
fidence in  the  truth  of  what  he  spoke  that  he  was  sure 
intelligent,  fair-minded  men  listening  to  him  would 
accept  it ;  and  that  such  men,  at  whatever  cost  to  them- 
selves, would  act  according  to  their  new  convictions. 
While  this  impression  grew  upon  us  to  the  very  end 
of  his  oration,  while  we  lost  sight  of  him  in  the  cause 
he  so  earnestly  advocated  to  change  our  convictions 
and  our  lives,  there  grew  upon  my  mind  at  leajst,  this 
further  feeling,  that  some  one  was  speaking  through 
him.  It  was  a  strange  and  awe-impelling  feeling :  that 
some  god  other  than  Athene  Minerva  of  the  Par- 
thenon, other  than  Mars  who  had  plead  the  first  cause 
on  this  hill-top,  that  some  other  god,  perhaps  the  god 
of  the  overhanging  stars  was  speaking  through  Paul 
and  was  demanding  of  me  my  allegiance.  This  feeling 
once  awakened  in  me  grew  until  it  took  possession  of 
me.  I  could  not  divest  myself  of  it.  I  had  to  yield 
to  it.    This  greatest  orator  I  have  ever  heard  lost  him- 


i88  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

self  in  his  cause,  then  gave  the  impression  that  he  was 
the  mouth-piece  of  a  person,  a  God  speaking  through 
him,  and  as  such  he  boldly  demanded  my  full  and 
prompt  allegiance.  The  oration  was  long;  it  fully 
treated  all  the  important  subjects  it  touched,  and  most 
satisfactorily  treated  them,  not  ignoring  or  hiding  a 
single  difficulty;  it  was  midnight  before  we  went  down 
the  hill  to  our  homes,  and  yet  it  seemed  but  a  fleeting 
moment. 

At  the  very  beginning,  without  the  least  attempt  at 
compliment,  he  acknowledged  our  attainments  and  our 
high  qualities.  What  higher  title  could  he  give  us : 
he  addressed  us  as  "Men  of  Athens"?  What  higher 
nature  could  he  ascribe  to  us :  "I  see  ye  are  very  reli- 
gious"? He  then  spoke  of  the  many  temples  and 
statues  in  our  city  and  of  the  many  gods  we  wor- 
shipped. Thus  he  came  to  the  main  subject  of  his 
oration  and  we  began  to  see  his  real  object  as  well. 
*T  see  you  are  not  satisfied  with  these  many  gods  for 
you  have  an  altar  to  An  Unknown  God,  I  want  to 
speak  to  you  of  that  unknown  God  and  to  win  your 
worship  for  him." 

From  that  time  on  he  spoke  as  if  there  were  no 
other  gods;  he  lifted  the  unknown  God  so  high  in  our 
thoughts  that  there  was  no  need,  no  possible  place  for 
any  other  god;  this  God  had  made  the  earth  and  the 
heavens  and  all  there  was  in  existence  and  he  was  the 
ever-present,  ever-ruling  Lord  of  all. 

This  lofty  thought  of  God  had  full  possession  of 
Paul,  his  mind  and  heart  had  no  place  for  any  other 
god  and  he  spoke  in  such  eloquent  terms  of  the  God 
over  all,  the  God  of  self -existence,  of  vast  creative 


PAUL  IN  ATHENS  189 

power,  of  wide,  all-embracing  dominion,  that  our 
minds  and  hearts  were  fascinated  with  the  vision. 
Having  given  us  this  splendid  thought  of  the  one  su- 
preme God,  he  showed  us  with  marvelous  eloquence 
how  we  could  not  make  any  temple  worthy  to  be  his 
dwelling-place,  the  whole  earth  itself  would  not  be 
great  enough  for  him,  the  whole  star-gemmed  heavens 
would  not  be  a  roof  for  his  temple,  had  he  himself  not 
made  both  earth  and  sky?  The  only  temple  for  this 
supreme,  all-creating,  all-ruling  God  was  the  mind  and 
heart  of  man.  He  had  made  all  men,  not  only  the  men 
of  Athens  in  our  wide  attainments  and  high  culture, 
but  men  of  all  nations  on  the  face  of  the  earth  and 
had  given  them  this  distinctive  nature :  that  they  should 
seek  after  this  one  God  who  had  given  them  life  and 
being,  after  their  Source,  their  Father,  the  Father  of 
their  spirits.  He  said,  "Some  of  your  own  writers 
that  I  have  read  have  caught  a  glimpse  of  this  great 
truth:  that  you  are  the  offspring  of  God.  Your  reli- 
gious nature  shows  you  are  akin  to  the  great  Spirit, 
the  supreme  God.  You  have  been  searching  for  him; 
your  splendid  hill  encrusted  with  temples  and  altars 
and  statues  shows  how  you  have  searched  for  him; 
but  you  have  not  yet  found  him  though  he  is  near  to 
every  one  of  you,  for  he  is  the  ever-present  Spirit  in 
whom  we  all  live  and  move  and  have  our  being." 

He  then  very  frankly  and  fully  described  the  way 
in  which  we  had  gone  astray.  "Ye  have  been  seeking 
this  unknown  God  but  ye  have  looked  too  intently  at 
the  material  creation  about  you;  ye  have  imagined  that 
he  had  a  form,  that  by  your  art  ye  could  carve  him  in 
gold  or  silver  or  stone;  ye  have  devised  gods  like  your- 


I90  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

selves  in  form  and  action;  ye  have  lost  sight  of  your 
own  spiritual  nature:  that  it  is  your  spirits  that  are 
by  their  nature  seeking  God  and  it  is  only  as  ye  look 
back  of,  beyond  all  material  forms,  that  ye  will  be  able 
to  find  your  Source,  your  Father,  himself  a  Spirit. 
Ye  have  degraded  yourself  and  debased  the  Father  of 
your  spirits  by  creating  your  statues  with  your  high 
ideals  of  beautiful  forms  and  then  worshipping  these 
works  of  your  hands  as  if  they  represented  various 
gods  of  beauty  or  strength,  alas,  also  of  lust  and  war. 
God,  the  God  I  proclaim  to  you,  has  been  greatly 
grieved  by  your  thus  debasing  yourselves  and  degrad- 
ing him,  but  he  has  been  very  patient  with  you  and 
has  sought  you  with  great  eagerness,  and  now  he  com- 
mands you  to  repent  of  all  this  wrong-thinking  and 
wrong-feeling  toward  him." 

He  then  spoke  to  us  with  great  conviction  and  deep 
feeling  that  this  unknown  God  had  made  himself  fully 
and  unmistakably  known,  that  this  great,  ever-present, 
all-powerful,  unseen  Spirit  back  of  all  forms  in  nature 
had  made  himself  clearly  revealed  in  Jesus  Christ.  He 
claimed  that  Jesus  Christ  was  God  revealed  in  the  flesh, 
that  he  was  revealed  not  only  in  bodily  form  as  we 
had  imagined  some  of  our  gods  to  have  become  incar- 
nate, but  in  the  very  spirit  of  man.  He  then  fully 
and  vividly  described  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus 
Christ:  how  he  had  taught  about  God  and  man,  and 
how,  especially,  he  had  lived  showing  us  the  nature  of 
God,  a  just  God  requiring  man  to  live  rightly,  and 
also  a  merciful  God  helping  man  to  recover  himself 
from  his  debasement ;  showing  us  also  how  each  man 
should  live  a  life  of  trust  and  love  toward  God  and 


PAUL  IN  ATHENS  191 

toward  his  fellow-man.  This  Jesus  Christ  he  set  be- 
fore us  with  such  eloquence  that  he  seemed  to  be  in 
our  presence  and  we  eagerly  admired  him  for  his  lofty 
teaching  and  splendid  life.  Then,  almost  overwhelmed 
by  his  feelings,  he  described  how  his  own  countrymen 
had  hated  Jesus  Christ  because  he  claimed  to  be  the 
Son  of  God,  and  had  persuaded  the  Romans  to  crucify 
him.  But  with  eager  triumph  in  his  voice  he  told  us 
that  God  had  raised  him  from  the  dead,  and  that  the 
risen  Christ  had  sent  him  to  preach  this  religion  to  all 
men  in  all  the  world.  He  then  again  called  us  to  repent, 
to  turn  from  our  wrong  views  and  actions  towards 
God  and  man  and  to  become  the  followers  of  Jesus 
Christ  since  God  would  strictly  judge  us  according  to 
this  righteousness. 

When  he  ceased  speaking  the  silence  of  the  night 
wrapped  us  round,  the  stillness  of  the  stars  looked 
down  upon  us.  For  awhile  we  lost  sight  of  ourselves 
as  the  great  court  of  the  Areopagus  trying  a  case  on 
the  hill  of  Mars  and  we,  ourselves,  seemed  to  be  suitors 
in  a  higher  court,  being  tried  for  our  whole  lives  before 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Judge,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Risen- 
from-the-dead,  while  the  mysterious  stars  awaited  his 
decision,  sealing  our  destiny. 

But  this  soon  passed  away;  some  of  our  members 
began  to  mock  at  the  idea  of  any  man  ever  having  been 
raised  from  the  dead;  others  said,  "let  us  hear  him 
again";  so  this  was  the  decision  given  to  Paul:  "we 
will  hear  thee  again  on  this  matter,"  and  the  session  of 
the  court  ended  at  midnight. 

As  for  me,  that  night  as  I  returned  from  Mars'  Hill, 
as  I  had  a  few  hours  before  approached  it,  by  way  of 


192  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

the  Parthenon  and  the  splendid  hill  of  the  Acropolis, 
I  could  not  divest  myself  of  the  conviction  that  Paul 
had  spoken  the  truth  and  that  I  must  yield  myself  to 
the  truth  and  become  the  follower  of  Jesus  Christ :  that 
all  these  splendid  statues  and  temples  were  in  vain, 
that  Athene  Minerva  herself  was  only  a  vain  im- 
agination of  man,  and  that  the  one  great  God  revealed 
in  Jesus  Christ  was  the  only  true  God. 

In  this  conviction  I  still  abide  and  it  has  taken  full 
possession  of  my  soul.  I  am  now  a  confessed  follower 
of  Jesus  Christ  and  am  trying  to  live  in  his  way,  the 
way  he  taught  and  lived.  I  used  to  look  upon  my 
slaves  as  a  lower  race  of  beings,  some  of  my  slaves 
have  also  become  followers  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  I  now 
regard  them  with  a  far-different  feeling,  indeed,  I 
regard  all  slaves  as  my  fellow-men.  I  used  to  look 
upon  other  nations  as  far  beneath  the  Greeks,  they 
were  barbarians  to  me ;  I  see  a  wide  difference  still  in 
many  ways,  but  I  now  regard  them  as  my  fellow-men. 
You  may  remember  that  some  of  the  women  of  our 
city  of  highest  culture  were  loose  in  their  morals  and 
were  despised  by  noble  men;  I  do  not  despise  any  of 
them  now  but  would  lift  them  up  in  purity  of  life, 
some  of  them  have  become  followers  of  Jesus  Christ 
with  us  and  have  become  pure  women.  I  used  to  look 
upon  you  Romans  as  hated  conquerors  who  had  taken 
away  our  place  and  nation,  though  some  I  regarded  as 
my  friends  and  recognized  as  truly  noble,  as  I  count 
you  my  friend;  but  now  I  am  thinking  and  feeling 
toward  our  Roman  conquerors,  as  to  all  other  nation- 
alities, as  my  fellow-men  all  made  of  one  blood,  all 
the  offspring  of  the  one  God  revealed  in  Jesus  Christ. 


PAUL  IN  ATHENS  193 

I  used  to  think  of  the  gods  as  many  and  as  often  hav- 
ing evil  passions  and  evil  lives,  and  as  often  being  in 
conflict,  often  injuring  men;  but  now  I  know  there  are 
no  such  gods,  that  there  is  only  one  true  God  who  has 
made  me  a  spirit  and  made  my  nature  to  seek  after 
him,  and  now  I  am  satisfied  I  have  found  him  in  Jesus 
Christ  and  I  am  trying  to  live  a  righteous  life  like  his. 
So  I  write  you  this  letter,  not  only  to  tell  you  of  this 
wonderful  oration  of  the  Apostle  Paul  that  I  heard 
a  few  weeks  ago  on  Mars'  Hill,  but  with  the  hope  that 
you  will  become  with  me  a  follower  of  Jesus  Christ. 


PART  III 
THE  POETRY  OF  THE  BIBLE 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  BIRTH  AND  GROWTH  OF  POETRY 

The  birth  of  poetry  seems  to  have  been  on  this 
wise.  The  family  or  tribe  is  gathered  before  the 
tent  at  close  of  day.  A  member  returns  and  in  great 
excitement  tells  of  some  strange  adventure.  His  sen- 
tences are  short,  measured  by  intense  feeling.  The 
excitement  spreads.  Some  one  repeats  a  striking 
sentence,  and  others  take  it  up  in  song,  perhaps  with 
some  instrument  of  music.  The  enthusiasm  grows, 
and  he  who  tells  the  story  and  they  who  hear  begin 
to  describe  by  acting  the  main  features  of  the  adven- 
ture, and  the  measured  step  of  march  or  dance  soon 
becomes  prominent  in  this  general  acting.  According 
to  the  nature  of  the  story  it  may  end  in  a  burst  of 
popular  frolic  or  in  an  act  of  solemn  worship.  As 
the  monotonous  days  pass  on  this  story  of  exciting  ad- 
venture is  repeated  time  and  time  again  until  it  be- 
comes enshrined  in  the  memory  and  is  ready  on  the 
lip  of  all. 

The  most  ancient  bit  of  this  primitive  poetry  found 
in  the  Bible  is  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  Genesis,  it  is 
called  the  Song  of  the  Sword. 

Lamech  calls  for  attention — 

"Adah  and  Zillah  hear  my  voice 
Ye  wives  of  Lamech  hearken  to  my  speech." 
197 


198  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

He  tells  the  story — 

"For  I  have  slain  a  man  for  wounding  me 
And  a  young  man  for  bruising  me." 

He  is  confident  of  the  justice  of  his  cause — 

"If  Cain  shall  be  avenged  sevenfold 
Surely  Lamech  seventy  and  sevenfold." 

In  this  spontaneous  rise  of  poetry  there  is  a  com- 
bination of  story,  music  and  imitative  gesture. 

Kinds  of  Poetry 

In  the  development  of  poetry  the  progress  is  along 
the  line  of  one  or  other  of  these  three  elements.  If 
it  is  along  the  line  of  verse,  the  short  measured  sen- 
tences of  the  story-teller,  we  shall  have  Epic  Poetry. 
The  music  and  acting  are  mere  accessories,  they  may 
be  present  or  absent,  the  main  element  is  the  story 
told  by  the  poet.  The  earliest  development  was  prob- 
ably along  this  line.  The  blind  story-teller  in  ancient 
Greece  pictured  scenes  of  heroism  that  stir  the  heart 
of  mankind  in  all  times  and  climes.  In  the  middle 
ages  the  minstrel  found  a  ready  audience  in  the  hall 
of  the  Castle  during  the  long  winter  evenings.  Thus 
epic  poetry  grows  and  great  epics  are  formed. 

There  are  no  epic  poems  in  the  Bible,  though  there 
are  stories  told  in  prose  which  have  the  epic  ring  and 
some  end  in  epic  songs.  The  story  of  Joseph  with  its 
vicissitudes  of  fortune,  of  David  with  its  heroism  and 
great  deeds,  of  Daniel  with  his  daring  and  success,  are 
epic  in  spirit  though  not  in  form.     Still  as  Hebrew 


BIBLE  POETRY  199 

poetry  is  not  widely  divided  in  form  from  intense  prose 
we  can  find  little  fault  in  Goethe  for  calling  *'Ruth  the 
loveliest  specimen  of  Epic  poetry  we  possess." 

If  the  main  attention  is  paid  to  the  element  of  imi- 
tative action  we  shall  have  Dramatic  Poetry.  It  is 
not  description  but  presentation,  the  poet  does  not 
tell  the  story,  he  brings  the  actors  upon  the  scene  and 
they  speak  for  themselves.  The  Drama  is  acted 
poetry.  The  Opera  is  the  drama  with  musical  ex- 
pression. The  development  along  this  line  waits  upon 
the  congregation  of  men  in  great  cities.  It  is  poetry 
for  large  audiences  who  are  to  be  impressed  by  scenes 
and  action  as  well  as  by  words. 

The  nearest  approach  to  dramatic  poetry  in  the 
Bible  is  the  Book  of  Job,  considered  in  Chapter  XIV. 

The  Rhapsodies  of  the  Prophets  are  spiritualized 
dramas, — no  persons  are  seen, — but  the  air  is  full  of 
voices,  voices  of  Earth  and  Sky,  voices  of  the  Nations, 
the  voice  of  God.  The  oratory  of  the  prophets  is 
often  poetic  and  frequently  dramatic. 

If  the  main  attention  is  paid  to  music  we  shall  have 
Lyric  Poetry.  It  need  not  be  the  music  of  instrument 
or  of  voice  in  song  but  the  musical  thought,  the  deep 
harmonies  of  Nature's  many  voices  caught  by  the 
sensitive  soul  of  the  poet  and  voiced  by  him  for  kin- 
dred souls.  The  poet  singing  alone ;  the  poet  singing  in 
the  family  with  choice  spirits;  the  poet  singing  in  the 
Temple  leading  the  praises  of  God,  this  is  the  lofty 
sphere  of  highest  poetry.  The  story  telling  Epic,  the 
imitative  Drama  are  left  far  below,  and  the  pure 
spirit  of  poetry  looks  out  upon  the  face  of  nature  and 
up  into  the  face  of  God,  and  sings.    In  the  progress  of 


200  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

poetry  the  development  of  the  Lyric  was  probably 
slowest  and  latest,  as  it  is  most  difficult  and  requires 
the  greatest  genius.  The  Epic  concerns  itself  with 
the  description  of  action.  The  Dramatic  with  the 
presentation  of  the  actors,  while  the  Lyric  reflects 
upon  the  reality  of  things,  the  truth  back  of  all  action. 

The  Bible  is  peculiarly  rich  in  Lyrical  poetry.  It 
is  of  this  poetry  that  Milton  says  "There  are  no  songs 
comparable  to  the  songs  of  Zion."  In  lofty  .thought, 
rich  feeling  and  beautiful  form  they  excel  among  the 
songs  of  mankind.  Many  of  these  lyrics  seem  to  have 
been  the  result  of  long  meditation  and  careful  skill, 
to  have  been  prepared  with  clear  purpose  and  much 
artistic  effort.  Others  seem  to  have  been  born  of  the 
occasion,  the  free  and  unpremeditated  outburst  of  great 
genius.  The  burning  thought  and  singing  word 
springing  from  the  brain  and  heart  of  the  poet  may 
have  been  as  great  a  surprise  to  him  as  they  are  a 
delight  to  the  world. 

One  of  the  most  brilliant  and  famous  poems  of 
our  own  day  is  a  lyric  of  this  kind.  Rudyard  Kip- 
ling's Recessional.  He  says  of  it,  *T  did  not  write  it. 
It  wrote  itself."  The  Navies  of  England  gathered 
in  review  at  the  Queen's  Jubilee  and  then  sailed  away. 
All  parts  of  the  great  Empire  sent  their  pomp  and 
power  to  do  her  honor;  the  Nations  of  the  world 
sent  their  representatives  to  her  feet;  then  all  the 
glorious  scene  vanished.  But  the  vision  was  pictured 
in  the  soul  of  a  great  genius;  he  saw  beyond  the 
glory  of  it  all,  the  real  meaning,  and  the  great  song 
has  the  deep  religious  feeling  of  a  Bible  Poet.  It  is 
said  that  Kipling  did  not  know  how  great  it  was,  its 


BIBLE  POETRY  201 

spontaneousness  and  timeliness  blinded  him  as  to  its 
worth,  and  he  threw  it  into  the  waste  basket.  But  his 
wife  rescued  it  and  gave  it  to  the  world,  and  the  world 
will  not  soon  forget  it. 

Psalm  46  may  be  compared  in  spirit  and  form  with 
the  Recessional,  the  occasion  which  gave  it  birth  may- 
have  been  the  great  invasion  of  Sennacherib,  and  it 
may  be  called  the  Song  of  Deliverance.  There  are 
three  strophes  equal  in  six  parallels,  each  having  a 
refrain. 

The  action  is  crowded  into  the  second  strophe. 

The  city  is  described  in  the  smooth  flowing  terms  of 
peace  and  security. 

"There  is  a  river  the  streams  whereof  make  glad  the  city 
of  God." 

The  enemy  gathering  in  eager  angry  haste  compels 
the  cry  of  alarm. 

"The  nations  raged,  the  kingdoms  were  moved." 

God's  deliverance  is  easy,  speedy  and  complete  as 
by  a  flash  of  lightning. 

"He  uttered  his  voice,  the  earth  melted." 

Then  follows  the  refrain  of  praise  and  confidence. 

"The  Lord  of  hosts  is  with  us 
The  God  of  Jacob  is  our  refuge." 

The  refrain  is  the  basis  of  Kipling's,  though  to  him 
is  to  be  credited  the  telling  addition,  "Lest  we  forget," 
and  even  this  sounds  like  an  echo  from  the  plains  of 
Moab,  the  great  poet  of  to-day  catching  up  the  words 
of  Moses  the  great  law-giver  in  his  farewell  orations. 


202  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

Nature  of  Poetry 
Concerning  the  nature  of  Bible  poetry  it  may  be  said, 
that  God  is  its  inspiring  theme.  Goethe  says,  "What 
a  glorious  poem  it  would  be  to  see  how  the  world 
mirrors  itself  in  a  great  soul."  The  poet  catches  the 
thought  of  God  in  his  universe  and  reflects  it  in  his 
song.  Matthew  Arnold  says  "poetry  is  the  most  per- 
fect speech  of  man,  that  in  which  he  comes  nearest 
to  being  able  to  utter  the  truth,"  that  is,  the  inner 
reality  of  things.  Poetry  is  the  greatest  of  the  arts, 
it  has  the  power  more  than  any  other  to  image  forth 
the  universe  to  the  mind  and  heart  of  man.  "What 
an  imagination  God  has,"  says  Tennyson.  The  poet 
sees  God  in  his  universe,  discerns  God's  plan,  the  ideal 
world,  of  which  the  real  is  only  the  shadow.  Banish 
God  from  the  universe  and  the  charm  is  gone,  the 
life  and  glory  have  departed,  it  gives  no  vision,  it 
awakens  no  song,  it  can  have  no  poet.  It  is  a  fine 
saying  of  Emerson, 

"In  the  mud  and  scum  of  things 
Something  always,  always  sings." 

If  this  is  true  of  the  mud,  much  more  of  the  flower 
and  the  star.  No  treatise  on  the  Sublime  could  afford 
to  leave  out  the  first  verse  of  Genesis,  "In  the  begin- 
ning God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth."  Jean 
Paul  Richter  says  "the  greatest  thought  of  the  finite 
is  the  Infinite."  Without  this  there  can  be  no  poetry. 
The  thought  of  God  is  the  most  sublime  and  fruitful 
of  thoughts.  And  this  loftiest  thought  colors  and 
measures  all  lower  thoughts. 

Seeing  the  heart  of  things  and  voicing  the  vision 


BIBLE  POETRY  203 

in  song  is  true  poetry.  The  imaginative  reproduction 
of  the  universe  as  revealing  God,  of  all  being,  all 
beauty,  all  truth  the  source  and  end,  this  is  Bible 
poetry.  So  the  true  poet  is  simply  the  seer  and  the 
voice,  nature  shines  and  sings  through  him.  True 
poems  sing  themselves,  they  escape  as  unconsciously 
from  the  essence  of  earth  and  air  as  the  scent  from 
the  violet  or  the  music  from  the  bird.  Emerson  says 
"The  free  winds  told  him  what  they  knew."  The 
surging  life  of  humanity  becomes  self-conscious  in  the 
poet,  he  sings  the  "still  sad  music  of  mankind";  the 
wide  universe  sings  through  him,  it  is  the  song  of 
earth  and  star;  God  speaks  through  him,  and  the 
poet  is  prophet  as  well.  The  poet  is  rapt,  the  truth 
discloses  itself  to  him  dressed  in  a  word  garb  of 
supernatural  beauty.  God  in  the  poet  enables  him  to 
see  God  in  everything.  The  Bible  poet  often  seems 
inspired  in  a  higher  degree  than  other  poets  so  that 
he  sings  more  clearly  and  fully  of  God,  and  in  many 
instances  in  an  entirely  different  manner  so  that  he 
voices  a  special  message  from  God. 

The  element  of  poetry  is  very  large  in  the  Bible. 
The  Books  of  Psalms,  Job,  Proverbs,  Song  of  Songs, 
and  Lamentations  are  entirely  poetical.  The  line 
between  poetry  and  rhetoric  being  less  sharply  marked 
in  the  Hebrew  than  in  our  English  literature,  the 
great  orations  of  the  Prophets  not  infrequently  rise 
into  poetic  strains.  In  the  historic  books  also  a  vivid 
story  sometimes  bursts  forth  from  prose  into  poetry. 
He  who  has  the  poetic  ear  will  also  gladly  recognize 
that  many  of  the  sayings  of  Christ  are  gems  of  poetry, 
radiant  with  beauty  and  ringing  with  music. 


204  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

Form  of  Poetry 
Hebrew  poetry  has  a  form  of  its  own  in  which  it 
finely  expresses  the  sublimity  and  independence  of 
its  spirit.  While  measured  syllables  in  rhyme  are  not 
absent  they  do  not  abound  in  the  Bible.  The  rhythm 
of  its  poetry  is  not  that  of  words  but  of  thought. 
Perhaps  it  may  be  said  that  deeper  than  all  the  rhythm 
of  art  is  that  of  nature  which  art  would  fain  catch. 
Poetry  tries  to  catch  it  in  measured  syllable  and  in 
rhyme,  the  beat  of  time  and  musical  note,  and  some- 
times loses  the  subtler  rhythm  of  thought.  The 
Hebrew  poets  in  subordinating  form  to  thought  come 
nearer  to  Nature's  heart  and  echo  the  music  of  its 
surging  heart  beats.  Bible  poetry  by  its  picturesque- 
ness  addresses  the  eye,  each  poem  is  a  gallery  of  word 
pictures,  by  its  simple  natural'  harmony  it  addresses 
and  charms  the  ear.  The  harmony  is  that  of  paral- 
lelism, short  sentences  carrying  on  the  thought  in 
regular  movement,  the  thought  and  feeling  welling 
forth  naturally  as  from  a  bubbling  spring.  The 
poetry  of  nature,  it  may  well  be  called.  The  rapid 
accumulation  of  thought  and  feeling  in  some  gifted 
soul  results  in  the  quick  repetition  of  short  sentences 
just  as  passionate  feelings  naturally  express  them- 
selves in  quick  breathings,  rapid  heart-beats,  marching 
steps.  Short  sentences  marching  after  each  other, 
this  is  Hebrew  parallelism.  The  rhythm  is  like  the 
swing  of  a  pendulum,  like  the  tramp  of  an  army,  like 
the  stately  stride  of  a  king,  the  rhythmic  march  of 
thought.  This  simple  and  noble  form  of  poetry  loses 
few  of  its  striking  features  by  translation.  The  fact 
that  the  Psalms  are  so  fresh  and  living  to-day  in  the 


BIBLE  POETRY  205 

many  languages  of  the  world  is  due  not  only  to  the 
spirit  but  largely  to  the  form  of  Hebrew  poetry. 

Dress  of  Poetry 

The  dress  of  poetry  comes  from  the  country  where 
the  poet  Hves. 

"If  you  the  poet  would  understand 
You  must  dwell  in  the  poet's  land." 

Icelandic  songs  have  the  background  of  snow  wastes 
and  the  accompaniment  of  the  storm  wind.  Tales  of 
the  Orient  are  told  in  the  twilight  under  the  whisper- 
ing palm  trees.  The  dweller  in  the  tropics  must  know 
something  of  our  northern  clime  or  he  will  miss  the 
music  we  hear  in  Poe's  Bells  and  the  genial  warmth  of 
the  glowing  hearth  in  Whittier's  Snow  Bound.  The 
poem  is  the  child  of  its  own  time  and  cHme,  we  must 
know  something  of  the  circumstances  of  its  birth  if 
we  would  see  its  beauty.  Figures  of  speech  arise 
spontaneously  from  experience.  The  word  paintings 
of  the  poet  are  of  the  scenes  his  eyes  beheld. 

Widely  different  ages  and  lands  reflect  themselves 
in  the  poems  of  the  Bible.  Psalm  i^j,  The  Lament 
of  the  Captives,  was  evidently  written  at  a  late  date 
and  on  the  great  plains  of  Babylon.  So  other  poems 
were  writen  at  a  very  early  day  and  in  the  desert. 

The  Song  of  Moses,  Deuteronomy  32 :  1-43,  at  the 
close  of  his  life  draws  its  imagery  largely  from  Sinai 
and  Moab.  The  memories  of  the  glory  of  God  re- 
vealed to  him  in  the  mountain  are  uppermost  at  the 
close  of  his  life.  Nine  times  he  calls  God,  the  Rock. 
And  he  builds  his  hope  for  the  nation  entirely  upon 


2o6  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

Him.  The  Song  is  in  fine  harmony  with  the  occasion 
of  its  birth. 

Still  we  have  only  glimpses  of  other  lands,  while  the 
vision  of  the  home  country  is  frequently  and  most 
lovingly  depicted.  The  Bible  land  itself,  thrown  up 
by  the  wide  desert  against  the  great  sea,  with  its 
lofty  outlook,  its  rugged  hill  country,  its  plains  and 
valleys,  its  snow  clad  Hermon  and  its  torrid  Jordan 
depression,  reflects  itself  in  Bible  poetry. 

Psalm  1st  is  the  beautiful  gateway  not  only  into  the 
Book  but  into  the  Psalm  Country  itself.  The  moun- 
tains of  Ebal  and  Gerizim  are  on  either  side  and  snow- 
clad  Hermon,  like  the  Great  White  Throne  of  Judg- 
ment, is  in  the  distance.  The  tree  figure  is  from  the 
Jordan  Valley,  the  chaff  figure  from  the  hill  country, 
and  the  congregation  figure  from  the  Temple  courts. 

The  most  sublime  and  impressive  imagery  sets  forth 
God  in  His  relation  to  His  land  and  people.  Light 
is  His  garment.    Thunder  is  His  voice. 

Psalm  2pth,  The  Song  of  the  Thunder-storm, 
graphically  pictures  the  majestic  sweep  of  the  storm, 
with  its  seven  thunder  voices,  as  it  rises  from  the 
great  sea,  sweeps  over  the  mountains  and  passes  away 
into  the  desert.  Now  the  whole  landscape  is  fresh  and 
the  sky  is  clear  and  everything  in  the  wide  earth,  the 
great  Temple  of  God,  says  Glory,  and  the  last  note  of 
the  thunder  voice  is  the  word  peace. 

Poetry  in  Worship 

The  Psalms  seem  to  have  formed  an  important 
part  of  the  Temple  worship.  While  many  may  have 
been  recited  in  its  liturgy  many  evidently  were  to  be 


BIBLE  POETRY  207 

sung  and  bear  indications  of  having  been  set  to  music. 

Some  of  the  Psahns  are  so  arranged  as  to  force  the 
conclusion  that  they  were  sung  in  parts,  a  portion  of 
the  choir  singing  in  response  to  another  portion,  and 
at  times  the  whole  choir  and  the  people  joining  in 
the  chorus. 

Psalm  loy,  the  Song  of  the  Redeemed,  was  prob- 
ably written  for  Temple  use  and  so  arranged.  We 
can  but  faintly  imagine  its  effective  rendering  by  the 
great  choir  of  four  thousand  voices,  with  the  full 
orchestra  accompaniment  of  three  hundred  instru- 
ments, in  the  open  air  in  the  courts  of  the  Temple  on 
Mount  Moriah;  it  must  have  been  an  act  of  worship 
befitting  a  nation  offering  the  praises  of  the  whole 
earth  to  the  Lord  God  Almighty.  The  first  three 
stanzas  are  a  prelude  to  be  sung  by  a  few  strong  voices 
with  a  succession  of  trumpet  tones,  to  prepare  for 
the  great  theme.  Then  follows  a  succession  of 
strophes,  each  having  a  double  refrain.  In  each  fol- 
lowing a  description  of  distress  there  is  a  cry  for  help. 
This  was  probably  sung  by  a  few  voices  without  in- 
struments. Then  there  is  a  description  of  deliverance 
and  an  outburst  of  praise.  This  would  be  sung  by 
many  voices  with  loud  instruments.  There  are  four 
of  these  strophes,  each  increasing  in  power.  Then 
follows  a  long  postlude,  sung  by  choir  and  people  in 
grand  chorus,  with  all  the  instruments  of  music,  voic- 
ing forth  the  praises  of  the  redeemed. 

The  two  prevailing  ideas  in  Hebrew  life  find  their 
fullest  expression  in  these  Psalms  of  Worship.  The 
first  is  God  in  covenant  with  man.  Psalm  8p  may  be 
called  The  Song  of  the  Covenant.    God's  faithfulness 


2o8  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

is  its  theme.  He  is  a  covenant  keeping  God.  It  con- 
tains a  long  sustained  adoration  of  God  which  excels 
among  the  praises  of  Israel.  The  second  is  the  great 
subject  of  the  covenant,  the  Coming  King,  the  prom- 
ised Messiah.     Contained  also  in  this  89th  Psalm. 

"His  seed  shall  endure  forever, 
And  his  throne  as  the  sun  before  me, 
It  shall  be  established  forever  as  the  moon, 
And  as  the  faithful  witness  in  the  sky." 

There  seem  to  be  three  distinct  features  of  this  Mes- 
sianic element  in  the  Psalms  sometimes  appearing 
singly,  sometimes  together. 

There  is  what  may  be  called  the  experimental.  The 
psalmist  in  his  experiences  as  a  child  of  God  trusting 
and  serving  Him  in  sunshine  and  darkness,  spoke 
words  well  fitting  the  lips  of  Him  who  long  after 
walked  the  fields  of  Galilee.  Psalm  22  may  he  called 
The  Song  of  the  Suffering  Messiah.  The  king  in 
describing  the  path  of  his  suffering  leading  him  to 
his  glory,  described  at  the  same  time  the  deeper 
suffering  and  the  greater  glory  of  the  greater  King. 

Then  there  is  what  may  be  called  the  rapturous. 
The  psalmist  cherishing  in  his  heart  the  promise  of 
the  coming  Messiah  pours  forth  a  song  of  hope  and 
love  in  language  so  lofty  and  significant  that  we 
adoringly  recognize  a  "greater  than  Solomon  is  here." 

Psalm  y2,  The  Song  of  the  King's  Reign,  is  clearly 
of  this  rapturous  kind. 

Then  there  is  what  may  be  called  the  predictive. 
Certain  features  of  the  coming  Messiah  evidently  be- 
yond the  experiences,  even  beyond  the  hopes  of  the 


BIBLE  POETRY  209 

psalmist,  were  revealed  to  him  and  so  are  enshrined 
in  the  Psalms.  Psalm  no  may  be  called  the  Song  of 
the  King-Priest,  and  seems  to  be  of  this  description. 

These  few  selections  show  what  a  wide  range,  what 
a  lofty  flight  the  genius  of  Bible  poetry  takes,  how  it 
soars  from  the  adoring  soul,  through  the  glorious 
universe,  and  worships  God  enthroned  in  light. 

That  Bible  poetry  has  incited  the  imagination  of 
mankind  and  inspired  much  of  the  finest  poetry  of  the 
world  cannot  be  questioned,  but  its  noblest  influence 
has  ever  been  in  quickening  the  spiritual  nature  of 
man. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

EPIC  POETRY 

Songs  in  the  Epic  Spirit 

A  UNIVERSE  from  which  God  is  banished  has  no 
longer  anything  that  irresistibly  attracts  the  mind  of 
man.  It  is  a  machine  whose  mathematics  may  be 
studied  but  whose  life  and  glory  have  departed.  Athe- 
ism cannot  hope  to  produce  great  poetry.  The  great 
epics  of  heathen  poets  are  stories  of  heroic  deeds  of 
both  gods  and  men.  To  see  God's  being  and  purpose 
in  nature  and  in  our  lives  adds  both  force  and  beauty 
to  them,  brings  the  vision  and  the  song  of  poetry. 

Goethe  in  Faust  wrote  concerning  man,  and  it  is 
one  of  his  most  admired  verses, 

"Like  as  a  star 
That  maketh  not  haste 
That  taketh  not  rest 
Be  each  one  revolving 
About  his  own  weight." 

We  recognize  the  truth  of  star  and  man,  both  are 
self -centered;  but  it  is  not  the  highest  and  best  truth 
of  either,  certainly  not  of  man;  there  is  a  higher  note, 
a  loftier  vision,  a  nobler  nature.  Much  of  the  ad- 
miration the  lines  have  awakened  comes  from  the 
translation  of  Carlyle,  giving  the  higher  truth  of  both 
star  and  man: 

210 


EPIC  SONGS  211 

"Like  as  a  star 
That  maketh  not  haste 
That  taketh  not  rest 
Be  each  one  fulfilling 
His  God-given  hest." 

The  great  theme  of  the  Bible  is  God,  the  revelation 
of  his  being  and  his  works,  his  character  and  his 
dealings  with  men.  But  no  eye  can  see  God,  no  ear 
can  hear  him  speak;  man  may  be  conscious  of  his 
presence  and  of  his  commands,  and  may  act  according 
to  this  consciousness,  but  even  such  a  one  finds  it 
difficult  to  describe  God  so  that  others  may  see  and 
hear  him.  The  epic  poet  describes  the  actors  and  their 
deeds  as  he  sees  them  and  makes  us  see  them,  the 
dramatic  poet  presents  the  actors  before  us  and  they 
speak  and  act  for  themselves,  both  description  and 
presentation  are  difficult  when  God  himself  is  the  sub- 
ject. The  Bible  in  its  narrative,  its  oratory  and  its 
poetry  struggles  with  this  immense  difficulty;  it  may 
be  said  to  be  one  vast  Epic  from  Genesis  to  Revela- 
tion, one  vast  Drama;  its  aim  is  to  make  men  see 
and  hear  God. 

Much  of  the  narrative  of  the  Bible  is  written  in 
the  true  epic  spirit,  not  in  dry  and  dull  details,  a  mere 
enumeration  of  events,  but  in  a  way  to  kindle  the 
imagination  and  stir  the  emotions  to  see  and  feel  the 
events.  This  is  sometimes  supplemented  by  song;  the 
feelings  of  the  actors  break  through  all  restraints  and, 
in  describing  the  main  features  of  the  events,  rise  up 
in  praise  to  the  unseen  God  who  has  brought  them 
to  pass.  These  may  be  called  songs  in  the  epic  spirit, 
songs  that  describe  and  express  the  spirit  of  the  action. 


212  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

Such  songs  keep  the  spirit  of  the  action  alive  through 
the  coming  ages :  as  some  one  says :  ''Let  me  make  the 
songs  of  a  people  and  I  care  not  who  makes  their  laws." 

The  story  of  the  deliverance  of  the  Children  of 
Israel  from  their  Egyptian  bondage  (Exodus  7-14)  is 
a  prose  epic,  and  the  Hebrew  prose  of  short,  vivid 
sentences  is  not  far  removed  from  the  Hebrew  poetry 
of  parallel  sentences.  Egypt  at  that  time  was  a  great 
world  empire  extending  to  the  Euphrates  on  the  north- 
east and  to  the  center  of  Africa  on  the  south.  Its 
home  was  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  a  narrow  ribbon  of 
land  ten  miles  wide  and  a  thousand  miles  long  cut  out 
from  the  great  desert  and  made  very  fertile  by  the 
annual  overflow  of  the  river  and  by  the  warm,  cloud- 
less sky.  The  Egyptians  worshipped  their  river,  their 
sky,  and  prolific  life.  This  affords  the  background 
of  the  tremendous  scenes  of  the  plagues,  and  the 
story  is  simply  and  graphically  told  so  that  we,  even 
in  this  far  off  age  and  land,  can  see  them. 

Two  nations  are  the  great  parties  in  action,  one 
dominant,  one  depressed ;  Pharaoh  and  his  court  repre- 
sent the  one,  Moses  and  Aaron  and  a  few  slaves 
represent  the  other;  God  is  present  but,  as  ever,  un- 
heard and  unseen.  The  river  becomes  a  curse,  from 
it  pests  and  pestilences  arise  and  afflict  prolific  life. 
The  clear  sky  becomes  angry  with  lightning  and 
thunder,  with  hail  and  locusts,  with  black  darkness; 
and  in  the  night  time  stark  death  stalks  through  the 
land  striking  every  home.  The  depressed  nation  passes 
out  into  freedom;  the  dominant  nation,  recovering  its 
courage,  pursues;  and  its  great  army  is  utterly  de- 
stroyed in  the  overwhelming  sea.     Now  the  feelings 


EPIC  SONGS  213 

of  the  rescued  nation  burst  forth  in  praise  to  the 
unseen  God,  their  great  deliverer;  and  the  song,  of 
necessity,  takes  the  epic  form  describing  the  culminat- 
ing act  of  the  deliverance  (Exodus  15).  It  may 
bear  the  title  "The  Song  of  Glorious  Triumph."  The 
first  and  second  verses  form  the  prelude : 
"This  is  my  God,  I  will  praise  him." 

The  song  has  three  parts;  the  first  part  (verses  3-5) 
simply  describes  the  event: 

"Pharaoh's  chariots  and  his  host  hath  he  cast  into  the  sea. 
They  went  down  into  the  depths  like  a  stone." 

The  second  part  (verses  6-10)  gives  a  few  powerful 
touches  of  details  of  dramatic  force: 

^    "The  enemy  said, 

I  will  pursue,  I  will  overtake,  I  will  divide  the  spoil, 
They  sank  as  lead  in  the  mighty  waters." 

The  third  part  (verses  11-18)  describes  the  far  reach- 
ing results  of  the  glorious  deliverance : 

"The  peoples  have  heard,  they  tremble, 
Pangs  have  taken  hold  on  the  inhabitants  of  Philistia. 
The  Lord  shall  reign  forever  and  ever." 

The  plan  of  the  spontaneous  song  seems  like  throwing 
a  stone  into  the  water:  it  plunges  into  the  water,  the 
water  closes  over  it,  the  ripples  spread  to  the  far  off 
shore. 

The  postlude  follows: 

"Sing  ye  to  the  Lord  for  he  hath  triumphed  gloriously. 
The  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown  into  the  sea." 

In  later  days  songs  on  the  same  subject  arose,  Psalms 
78,  105,  106,  but  have  less  of  the  epic  spirit. 


214  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

In  Judges,  the  fifth  chapter,  we  have  another  epic 
song,  and  the  same  event  is  described  in  prose  in  the 
fourth  chapter;  both  show  the  prominence  and  honor 
given  to  woman  in  Israel.  There  are  hints  in  the 
narrative  that  the  oppression  was  lustful  in  the  degra- 
dation of  woman;  hence  Deborah,  the  mother  in  Israel, 
and  Jael,  the  wife  of  the  traitor,  revenge  womanhood 
upon  the  oppressor.  The  song  may  be  called  '*Great 
Deliverance' '  and  has  the  epic  character  of  describing 
the  event,  and  seems  the  spontaneous  praise  of  the 
actors.  The  prelude  (2-5)  contains  an  apostrophe  to 
the  Lord;  the  song  is  divided  into  three  parts:  the 
first  describes  the  oppression  (6-11);  the  second 
(12-18),  the  rally  to  resist  oppression;  the  third  (19- 
31),  the  defeat  and  destruction  of  the  oppressor. 
Verses  24-31  present  two  women  in  strong  contrast: 
Jael  in  killing  Sisera,  and  his  mother  in  waiting  for 
his  return;  naturally  our  sympathies  would  be  with 
the  mother. 

"Through  the  window  she  looked  forth  and  cried, 

The  mother  of  Sisera  cried  through  the  lattice, 

Why  is  his  chariot  so  long  in  coming? 

Why  tarry  the  wheels  of  his  chariot?" 

The  pathos  is  strong,  the  mother  watching  for  one 
who  will  never  return.  By  a  daring  poetic  imagery  our 
sympathies  turn  from  the  mother  to  Jael,  when  we 
hear  how  the  mother  consoles  herself  with  v^hat  would 
have  happened  had  Sisera  triumphed. 

"Her  wise  ladies  answered  her, 
Yea,  she  returned  answer  to  herself, 
Have  they  not  found,  have  they  not  divided  the  spoil, 
A  damsel,  two  damsels  to  every  man. 
To  Sisera  a  spoil  of  diverse  colors  on  the  necks  of  the  spoil.** 


EPIC  SONGS  215 

Well  may  the  women  sing: 
"So  let  thy  enemies  perish  O  Lord." 

An  epic  narrates  stirring  events,  heroic  action;  we 
of  course  find  feeling  in  them,  we  infer  it;  but  an 
epic  song  may  express  progress  of  feeling  primarily, 
and  we  may  have  to  infer  the  events. 

The  Song  of  Songs  which  is  Solomon's  is  an  epic 
idyl  of  home  and  love,  as  in  Ruth,  only  the  events  are 
less  prominent  and  the  feelings  are  graphically  ex- 
pressed. Courtship  and  marriage  are  important  ex- 
periences in  human  life,  man  was  created  male  and 
female,  the  two  natures  are  needed  to  complete  human 
nature,  and  when  wedded  by  pure,  strong  love  form 
the  highest  ideal  of  life  on  earth.  This  is  expressed 
in  the  Song  of  Songs;  it  is  superlative,  the  best  love 
song  of  all  the  ages.  It  is  a  song  made  up  of  songs; 
the  King  sings  of  the  Bride,  the  Bride  of  the  King, 
and  those  who  witness  their  happiness  sing  of  that  joy. 
At  first  blush  it  does  not  seem  to  be  a  song  of  praise 
to  God  as  he  is  hardly  referred  to  in  the  whole  book, 
and  some  have  questioned  why  it  should  be  included 
among  the  books  in  the  Bible ;  but  the  finest  expression 
of  the  highest  human  happiness  may  be  regarded  as 
itself  praise  of  God,  as  the  singing  of  birds,  as  the 
fragrance  of  flowers,  as  the  beauteous  light  upon  land 
and  sea  are  in  themselves  voices  of  praise  to  God. 
Besides,  this  highest  relationship  of  man  and  woman 
has  been  chosen  in  other  books  of  the  Bible  to  illus- 
trate the  relation  between  God  and  his  people,  they 
are  personified  as  his  bride,  and  this  superlative  song 
of  earth's  happiness  lifts  one's  thought  to  the  happi- 


2i6  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

ness  of  the  eternal  life:  Christ  the  Bridegroom  and 
his  Bride  in  the  Palace  above,  the  Father's  house  of 
many  mansions. 

One  view  of  the  song  based  upon  this  illustration 
of  the  higher  relation,  regards  it  as  an  allegory,  that 
the  poet  is  directly  describing  Christ  and  his  Church 
under  the  figure  of  Solomon  and  his  Bride.  The  per- 
sons and  objects  are  not  real  but  figures  of  spiritual 
"persons  and  objects,  the  filling  in  of  the  details  of  the 
scenes  has  reference  only  to  Christ  and  his  Church. 
The  devout  imagination  takes  the  wildest  flight,  with- 
out restraint,  and  often  out  of  sight  of  any  power  of 
reason  we  at  present  possess.  A  few  examples  are 
at  least  curious. 

(2:  16  and  6:  3) 

"He   feedeth   among  the   lilies" 

means  Christ  condescends  to  dwell  among  his  lowly 
people. 

(2:  17  and  8: 14) 

"Make  haste  my  beloved 
And  be  like  a  roe  or  a  young  hart 
Upon  the  mountains  of  spices" 

means  Christ  coming  to  his  people  through  the  ordi- 
nances. 

A  whole  book  has  been  written  describing  the  per- 
son and  work  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  it  has  high 
spiritual  value  coming  from  a  devout,  adoring  soul, 
as  its  title  would  lead  one  to  infer :  *'A11  about  Jesus." 
It  is  based  upon  the  ecstatic  description  the  enraptured 
bride  gives  of  her  lover,  the  King  (5 :  10-16)  ;  it  re- 
quires a  marvelous  ingenuity  to  find  in  these  verses  a 


EPIC  SONGS  217 

description  of  Christ,  the  writer  brought  far  more  to 
the  passage  than  it  contained. 

The  Song  of  Songs,  whether  written  by  Solomon  or 
by  a  much  later  poet  making  Solomon  its  hero,  is  a 
song  of  pure  love. 

There  are  two  views  of  the  story  underneath  the 
song.  One  is  that  a  most  beautiful  peasant  maiden 
in  the  north  of  the  land  captures  the  heart  of  Solomon. 
He  has  her  brought  to  Jerusalem  and  becomes  her 
enraptured  suitor.  Solomon  the  magnificent  bows  at 
her  feet,  all  the  glory  of  his  court,  all  the  glamour 
of  his  power,  all  the  charm  of  his  person,  all  the  ardor 
of  his  love  are  lavishly  offered  to  her:  but  in  vain. 
She  has  given  her  heart  to  an  humble  shepherd  lover  in 
her  own  land;  the  King  has  no  charm  for  her.  It  is 
a  song  of  true  love. 

The  other  story  under  the  song  is  that  Solomon, 
visiting  the  northern  portion  of  his  kingdom,  catches 
a  glimpse  of  this  wonderfully  beautiful  maiden,  falls 
in  love  with  her  and  wishes  to  win  her  heart.  He  lays 
aside  his  royal  state,  disguises  himself  as  a  shepherd, 
and  courts  her.  Her  heart  is  free  and  soon  yields 
to  his  wooing,  and  they  become  betrothed.  He  goes 
to  Jerusalem  on  some  pretext,  and  after  a  short  time, 
still  maintaining  his  disguise,  he  sends  for  her  to  come 
to  him.  She,  supposing  she  is  to  meet  her  humble 
lover,  comes  in  her  pure  simplicity  to  the  great  city; 
Solomon  meets  her,  still  disguised,  and  they  are  mar- 
ried; a  case  of  pure,  wedded  love.  Now  the  disguise 
is  thrown  aside  and  Solomon  the  Magnificent,  takes 
her  as  his  Queen  to  his  palace.  The  Song  of  Songs 
now  arises  and  expresses  the  rapture  of  their  love 


2i8  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

in  the  palace  and  as  they  recount  to  each  other  the 
romance  of  the  courtship  and  the  betrothal  in  Lebanon. 
This  latter  story  fits  more  closely  all  the  bewildering 
beauty  of  the  Song  of  Songs.  It  throbs  with  passion ; 
the  King  has  not  made  a  political  alliance  without 
heart,  for  reasons  of  state,  but  a  love  match;  and  he 
and  his  bride  cannot  fully  express  their  feelings  for 
each  other.  The  Bible  consecrates  all  it  touches;  the 
greatest  of  all  love  songs  can  but  faintly  express  the 
love  of  the  greater  King  and  his  still  more  lowly 
bride. 

As  wedded  love  is  the  highest  joy  of  two  lives  and 
marriage  is  the  basis  of  society  so  the  city  may  be 
regarded  as  the  culminating  experience  of  social  life, 
the  cluster  of  families  in  the  bright  flower  of  society. 
There  are  two  great  poems  in  the  Bible  concerning  the 
city  of  Zion,  neither  can  be  called  in  any  sense  an 
epic,  but  we  may  glance  at  them  here.  The  first  is 
the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah.  Poetry  and  oratory 
are  closely  akin  and  the  great  orator  may  have  been 
the  great  poet  as  well.  The  destruction  of  a  great 
city  is  one  of  the  most  awful  experiences  human 
nature  can  pass  through,  and  this  poem  is  evidently 
written  by  one  who  had  shared  in  that  experience. 
Though  charged  with  deepest  feeling  it  is  most  artistic 
in  form.  There  are  five  songs  or  lamentations  each 
complete  in  itself  both  in  subject  and  form,  each  con- 
tains twenty-two  verses  according  to  the  number  of 
letters  in  the  Hebrew  alphabet,  and  each  verse  in  the 
first  four  divisions  begins  with  the  appropriate  letter 
in  progression  to  the  end.  The  first  song  describes  the 
desolation : 


EPIC  SONGS  219 

"How  doth  the  city  sit  solitary, 
She  has  become  as  a  widow, 
She  weepeth  sore  in  the  night, 
Her  tears  are  on  her  cheeks." 

The  second  song  attributes  the  destruction  to  God's 
wrath : 

"How  hath  the  Lord  covered  the  daughter  of  Zion  with  a 

cloud  in  his  anger, 
He  hath  cast  down  from  heaven  unto  the  earth  the  beauty 
of  Israel." 

The  third  song  is  the  climax,  the  city  becomes  per- 
sonified and  moans  out  its  distress : 

"I  am  the  man  that  hath  seen  affliction  by  the  rod  of  his  wrath 
My  flesh  and  my  skin  hath  he  made  old,  he  hath  broken  my 

bones, 
He  hath  fenced  me  about  that  I  cannot  go  forth,  he  hath 

made  my  chain  heavy." 

The  fourth  song  contrasts  the  present  desolation  with 
the  past  glory : 

"How  is  the  gold  become  dim,  how  is  the  most  pure  gold 
changed. 

The  fifth  song  is  the  prayer  of  the  desolate  city: 

"Remember  O  Lord  what  is  come  upon  us. 
Behold  and  see  our  reproach, 
Our   inheritance   is   turned   unto    strangers. 
Our  houses  unto  aliens. 
Turn  thou  us   unto  thee   O   Lord, 
Hast  thou  utterly  rejected  us?" 

The  great  song  sobs  itself  into  silence. 

The  city  does  not  remain  desolate  in  the  dark  night 
of  God's  wrath;  through  the  vision  of  a  great  prophet 
we  see  the  coming  of  a  new  and  splendid  day. 


220  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

Again  we  recognize  that  oratory  and  poetry  are 
close  akin,  that  fine  oratory  while  in  prose  form  has 
the  loftiest  spirit  of  poetry.  Isaiah,  40th-66th  chap- 
ters, takes  the  form  of  spiritualized  drama,  no  persons 
are  seen,  but  the  change  of  speakers  is  frequent  and 
is  arranged  in  acts  or  scenes.  The  orator  or  poet  be- 
comes rapt  in  his  vision  and  speaks  for  others  in  such 
a  way  that  we  do  not  think  of  the  poet  but  of  the 
speakers  he  brings  before  us.  The  speakers  in  this 
rhapsody  are  Jehovah,  the  Celestial  Hosts,  the  Nations, 
Cyrus,  Israel,  Zion,  the  Servant  of  Jehovah,  the  Pro- 
phetic Spectator,  the  Voice  of  Prophecy,  the  Redeemer 
of  Zion,  the  Watchman  of  Jerusalem,  an  impersonal 
voice  in  the  air  cries,  and  there  are  hymns  as  sung  by 
unseen  choirs. 

We  can  give  only  an  outline  of  the  Rhapsody  of 
Zion  Redeemed : 

Prelude,  Hope  for  Israel  (40:1-11). 

Act  I,  Scene  i,  Glory    of    Jehovah    enthroned    the    nations 
before  him  (40 :  12-42 :  17) . 
Scene  2,  Judgment  on  Babylon  (42:18-48).    Refrain. 
Act  2,  Scene  3,  Redemption  of  Zion, 

Israel  in  the  background, 
Servant  of  Jehovah  in  foreground  (49-52:  12). 
Scene  4,  Servant  of  Jehovah  exalted  through  suffer- 
ing (52:13-53). 
Zion  exalted  with  him  (54-55). 
Scene  5,  Sin  and  Forgiveness   (56-57).     Refrain. 
Act  3,  Scene  6,  The  Redeemer  come  to  Zion, 
Zion  triumphant   (58-62). 
Scene  7,  Redemption  through  Judgment  (63-66). 
Thus  saith  the  Lord: 
"The  heaven  is  my  throne 
The  earth  is  my  footstool. 
What  place  shall  be  my  rest? 
What  manner  of  house  will  ye  build  unto  me?" 


CHAPTER  XIV 

DRAMATIC  POETRY 

The  Book  of  Job 

Literature  is  artistic,  its  creations  hold  their  place 
in  the  world's  esteem  by  completeness  of  thought  and 
beauty  of  form.  The  writings  of  the  masters  have 
qualities  rendering  them  agreeable  to  the  eye  and  to 
the  ear,  both  beauty  and  music,  elegance  and  harmony. 
Many  acknowledged  masters  of  literature  are  out- 
spoken in  their  appreciation  of  the  Book  of  Job. 

Carlyle  says,  "I  call  the  Book  of  Job  one  of  the 
grandest  things  ever  written  by  pen.  There  is  noth- 
ing written,  I  think,  in  the  Bible  or  out  of  it  of  equal 
literary  merit." 

Froude  says,  *'This  book  when  it  is  allowed  to  stand 
on  its  own  merits  is  seen  towering  up  alone  far  above 
all  the  poetry  of  the  world." 

Schaff  says,  "Considering  its  antiquity  and  artistic 
perfection  it  rises  like  a  pyramid  in  the  history  of 
literature,  without  a  predecessor  and  without  a  rival." 

Moulton  says,  "If  a  jury  of  persons  well  instructed 
in  literature  were  asked  what  is  the  greatest  poem  in 
the  world's  great  literatures,  I  believe  a  large  majority 
would  give  their  verdict  in  favor  of  the  Book  of  Job." 

Daniel  Webster  says,  "The  Book  of  Job  as  a  mere 
work  of  literary  genius  is  the  most  wonderful  produc- 

221 


222  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

tion  of  any  age  or  of  any  language.  It  is  purely  in- 
tellectual, depending  not  on  the  interest  of  a  story  as 
does  the  Iliad,  but  entirely  upon  the  power  of  the  dia- 
logue. I  read  it  often  and  always  with  renewed  de- 
light." 

Hamilton  Mabie  says,  "Nobody  can  know  the 
Psalms  of  David  or  the  Prophecies  of  Isaiah  or  that 
sublime  Book  of  Job  without  being  imbued  with  a  keen 
imagination." 

The  author  of  this  masterpiece  of  poetry  is  not 
known,  nor  even  the  time  in  which  it  was  written. 
Some  think  it  was  written  in  the  time  of  Abraham  as 
all  the  local  color  is  of  that  age,  but  against  this  is 
the  perfection  of  its  literary  form.  Some  think  it  was 
written  in  the  time  of  Solomon  or  later,  against  this 
is  the  absence  of  all  reference  to  national  history  or 
present  conditions.  Some  think  it  was  written  by 
several  authors  in  different  ages,  against  this  is  the 
rarity  of  such  genius. 

The  poem  may  be  regarded  as  pure  drama ;  the  poet 
does  not  describe  in  his  own  words  the  deeds  and  say- 
ings of  others  as  in  epic  poetry,  he  simply  presents 
Job  and  his  friends  in  certain  circumstances,  and  they 
speak  their  thoughts  and  feelings  to  each  other.  God 
is  the  principal  person  in  the  Bible  and  one  instinc- 
tively feels  the  inappropriateness  of  a  drama  in  which 
this  principal  character  is  either  brought  forward  or 
left  out.  The  great  poet  of  this  book  has  two  daring 
devices  by  which  he  brings  God  himself  forward  as 
the  principal  actor  in  this  drama.  There  is  a  prologue 
in  which  he  describes  a  scene  in  heaven  and  a  scene  on 
earth  as  in  epic  poetry,  then  follows  the  drama  in  ^yt 


BOOK  OF  JOB  223 

acts,  at  its  close  there  is  the  description  of  a  scene  on 
earth,  the  epilogue  of  the  poem.  In  the  prologue  and 
in  the  epilogue  God  is  the  principal  person,  he  is  de- 
scribed as  in  epic  poetry,  but  this  must  be  regarded 
as  the  bold  setting  of  the  scene  by  the  dramatist.  In 
the  last  act  of  the  drama  the  poet  by  a  bold  device 
brings  God  forward,  and  his  words  form  the  climax 
of  the  poem;  a  great  storm  arises,  one  of  Job's  friends 
graphically  describes  its  approach;  the  thunderstorm 
is  God's  garment,  and  the  unseen  God  speaks  from  the 
wind-driven  clouds.  The  splendid  genius  of  the  poet 
is  seen  not  only  in  this  setting  of  the  speech  of  God, 
but  in  that  the  speech  itself  is  worthy  of  the  speaker, 
it  is  the  long-sustained  culmination  of  the  drama. 

The  theme  of  the  drama  is  "The  mystery  of  the 
suffering  of  a  good  man  under  the  government  of  the 
righteous  God."  This  is  a  colossal  theme,  colossal  in 
its  grave  simplicity  and  in  the  dignity  of  its  treatment. 
The  theme  some  have  suggested,  mislead  by  the  pro- 
logue, of  ''How  the  righteous  can  suffer  and  endure 
steadfast  to  the  end"  is  comparatively  a  small  theme, 
it  centers  interest  in  Job,  a  mere  man ;  while  the  drama 
in  the  sweep  and  loftiness  of  its  discussion  centers 
interest  in  the  righteous  God. 

While  the  scene  in  heaven  is  a  part  of  the  book.  Job 
and  his  friends  are  entirely  ignorant  of  it,  and  God 
when  he  speaks  does  not  refer  to  it. 

The  story  is  quickly  told.  Job  is  a  man  of  virtue, 
prosperity  and  happiness ;  suddenly  prosperity  is  swept 
away,  bereavement  displaces  happiness,  and  sickness, 
painful  and  loathsome,  lays  him  low;  only  virtue  re- 
mains.    Job  poor,   friendless,  loathsome,  is  upon  an 


224  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

ash-heap  outside  the  town,  removed  from  his  home, 
cast  out  by  mankind;  and  the  weary  days  pass  on, 
length  of  time  adds  to  his  sufferings.  Friends  of  his 
prosperous  days  living  at  a  distance,  hear  of  his  great 
disaster  and  come  to  him,  and  are  astounded  at  his 
great  distress.  Now  Job  and  his  friends  enter  upon  a 
deep,  thoughtful  and  often  passionate  discussion  of  the 
righteousness  of  God.  They  do  not  for  a  moment 
question  but  that  the  righteous  God  has  brought  this 
distress  upon  Job.  How  can  it  be  explained  and  justi- 
fied? At  length  God  himself  enters  upon  the  discus- 
sion, he  speaks  from  the  whirlwind. 

Then  the  scene  changes  and  Job  is  completely  re- 
stored to  health  and  prosperity. 

With  reference  to  the  theme  itself,  the  problem  of 
evil  resting  heavily  upon  the  good  in  this  world,  other 
literatures,  philosophies  and  religions  have  varied  ex- 
planations; their  entire  absence  from  this  drama  is 
itself  noteworthy.  Some  hold  there  are  conflicting 
Gods,  no  one  supreme ;  or  God  is  not  good,  he  delights 
in  human  sufferings;  or  God  is  powerless,  has  made 
forces  and  laws  but  cannot  control  them;  or  God  is 
indifferent,  he  does  not  care ;  or  there  is  no  God,  only 
blind  chance  or  fate.  In  this  great  poem  the  rule  of 
the  righteous  God  in  all  nature  and  in  human  life  is 
fully  acknowledged. 

The  book  evidently  divides  itself  into  five  sections, 
we  may  call  each  section  an  act,  so  this  drama  is  com- 
plete in  five  acts.  The  first  act  embraces  the  first 
eleven  chapters,  it  includes  the  stage  setting  in  the  pro- 
logue and  the  first  round  of  the  discussion  by  Job 
and  his  three  friends.     Job  speaks  first  three  times 


BOOK  OF  JOB  225 

and  each  friend  speaks  in  answer  to  him.  The  Hght 
thrown  upon  the  colossal  theme  in  both  prologue  and 
discussion  is  that  under  the  righteous  government  of 
God  a  good  man  may  be  tested  by  suffering,  both  to 
confirm  him  and  to  vindicate  him  against  the  false 
charges  that  he  is  good  only  because  he  is  prosperous. 

The  second  act,  12-20  chapters,  contains  the  second 
round  of  the  discussion.  Job  speaks  first  three  times 
and  each  friend  speaks  in  answer  to  him.  The  friends 
here  develop  their  opinion  that  Job  must  have  some 
special  wickedness  unknown  to  men  but  known  to  God 
which  is  the  cause  of  his  great  suffering.  Job  resent- 
ing this  speaks  in  several  instances  concerning  God's 
dealings  with  him  in  terms  which  lead  one  to  fear  he 
may  soon  rebel  against  God.  As  in  a  drama  the  hero 
generally  passes  at  least  once  under  a  cloud,  so  Job  in 
this  act;  but  he  quickly  and  strongly  wins  one's  ad- 
miration again  for  his  strong  faith,  in  the  last  verses 
of  the  19th  chapter. 

The  third  act,  chapters  21-31,  continues  the  charge 
of  the  three  friends  that  Job  must  be  specially  wicked 
since  God  has  sent  such  special  distress  upon  him. 
Job  speaks  first  twice  and  two  friends  answer  him; 
Job  speaks  again,  the  third  friend  is  silenced;  Job 
speaks  again,  and  at  last  all  the  friends  are  silenced. 
The  light  thrown  upon  the  colossal  theme  in  the  second 
and  third  act  is  that  suffering  is  a  punishment  for  sin 
under  the  government  of  the  righteous  God. 

The  fourth  act,  chapters  32-37,  contains  four 
speeches  by  the  fourth  friend.  Each  speech  is  received 
by  Job  in  silence.  One  hardly  knows  how  to  interpret 
this  silence  of  Job,  is  it  acceptance  or  rejection  of  the 


226  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

view  presented?  Here  seems  another  instance  of  the 
art  of  the  dramatist.  In  act  second  our  hero  sank  a 
little  in  our  esteem  and  we  feared  for  him,  here  as  in 
dramas  generally  there  is  suspense,  we  hold  our  breath 
but  feel  sure  the  hero  will  stand  the  strain  and  come 
out  in  success.  The  light  thrown  upon  the  colossal 
theme  in  this  act  is  that  suffering  while  not  a  punish- 
ment may  be  a  discipline  into  greater  virtue  under  the 
government  of  the  righteous  God. 

The  fifth  act,  chapters  38-42,  contains  the  speech  of 
God  from  the  whirlwind  and  the  epilogue.  God  speaks 
of  the  mystery,  beyond  the  powers  of  man  to  fathom, 
of  God's  creation  and  government  of  the  great  uni- 
verse. The  light  thrown  upon  the  colossal  theme  is 
that  suffering  while  a  mystery  to  us  is  clear  to  him, 
it  is  needed  in  the  culmination  of  creation,  the  making 
of  a  man.  The  epilogue  shows  the  quick  climax  of 
the  drama,  the  restoration  of  Job  to  more  than  earthly 
happiness.  The  light  thrown  upon  the  colossal  theme 
is  that  goodness  is  sure  of  final  triumph  under  the 
government  of  the  righteous  God. 

It  is  quite  evident  in  this  great  drama  that  while 
Job  is  the  human  hero  and  holds  our  interest  to  the 
close,  the  real  Hero  is  the  God  dealing  with  Job,  test- 
ing him,  punishing  him,  disciplining  him,  making  a 
man  of  him,  and  crowning  him  at  last;  God  is  the 
great  Hero  of  this,  the  greatest  of  the  world's  dramas. 
The  greatness  of  the  poem  is  thus  seen  in  the  plot  or 
story  of  the  drama  through  successive  stages  of  in- 
terest or  suspense  until  the  climax  is  reached  and  the 
righteous  God  brings  Job  out  of  his  suffering  into 
great  prosperity.     Still  it  is  in  the  discussion  of  the 


BOOK  OF  JOB  227 

colossal  theme,  in  the  speeches  of  Job,  his  friends  and 
God  himself  that  the  greatness  of  the  poem  is  gener- 
ally recognized.  The  wide  sweep  of  thought  over  all 
the  varied  experiences  of  man's  life,  and  over  the 
works  of  God  in  the  heavens  and  in  the  earth,  the 
clearness  and  beauty  of  the  expression  of  this  thought, 
greatness  of  thought  and  beauty  of  form,  combine 
to  make  this  poem  the  greatest  in  the  literature  of  the 
world.  Modern  culture  flowering  forth  in  the  greatest 
genius  can  appreciate  but  cannot  excel  many  passages 
clustering  in  the  book,  from  the  description  of  the 
grave,  2:  17-19,  to  that  of  the  sea,  38:9-11.  Modern 
wickedness  oppressing  his  fellowman  can  hardly  be 
more  hideously  described  than  in  24:9-11.  Every 
careful  reader  and  every  careful  reading  of  the  book 
will  select  fresh  passages  of  strength  or  beauty. 

This  ancient  book  in  its  descriptions  of  God's  work 
in  nature  is  free  from  the  crudities  that  prevail  in 
other  ancient  literatures,  and  the  descriptions  are  often 
so  deep  and  so  true  that  modern  science  confirms  but 
does  not  exhaust  them.  As  the  wonderful  hymn  of 
creation,  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  describes  the 
successive  stages  of  the  formation  of  the  earth  and  its 
living  voyagers  through  space  in  a  way  beyond  the 
knowledge  of  ancient  times,  and  in  the  order  since 
described  by  modern  science,  so  this  book  awakens  our 
wonder.  Take  for  swift  examination  a  few  references 
to  the  heavens,  and  modern  astronomy  confirms  but 
does  not  exhaust  them.  Job  says  (26:7)  "God 
stretcheth  out  the  north  over  empty  space,  and  hangeth 
the  earth  upon  nothing."  The  north  is  still  compara- 
tively empty  of  stars  seen  by  the  naked  eye  not  only 


228  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

but  by  the  strongest  telescope  and  by  modern  stellar 
photography,  and  the  earth  is  a  ball  hanging  from  that 
empty  space.  God  says  (38:31)  "Canst  thou  bind 
the  cluster  of  the  Pleiades  or  loose  the  bands  of 
Orion?"  God  is  speaking  of  his  mysterious  power, 
you,  Job,  cannot  do  what  I  am  doing.  Modern  astro- 
nomy says  the  cluster  of  the  Pleiades  is  being  bound 
closer  together,  and  that  the  bands  of  Orion  over  our 
solar  system  are  being  loosed,  that  our  sun  and  its 
planets  are  moving  with  utmost  rapidity,  eighteen 
miles  a  second,  away  from  the  constellation  Orion 
toward  the  constellation  Hercules. 

God  continues  (Job  38:  32)  "Canst  thou  lead  forth 
the  Mazzaroth  in  their  season  or  canst  thou  guide  the 
Bear  with  her  train  ?"  The  Mazzaroth  are  the  bright 
shining  ones,  the  disks  among  the  stars,  our  planets. 
The  Bear  is  the  one  who  labors,  the  all  night  watcher; 
of  the  summer  heavens  it  is  Arcturus,  a  sun  of  the 
same  class  as  our  sun,  but  375,000  times  its  volume, 
and  giving  5,000  times  as  much  light,  and  probably 
having  a  much  larger  number  of  planets  circling  about 
it.  Can  you  bring  out  the  planets  of  your  little  sun, 
Job,  or  the  planets  of  the  greatest  sun  in  the  heavens? 
You  cannot,  but  I  am  doing  it.  Beyond  the  knowl- 
edge of  his  day  that  the  earth  was  a  ball,  that  the  sun 
was  related  to  the  Pleiades  or  Orion,  that  the  sun  had 
planets  or  that  there  were  other  such  suns,  this  won- 
derful poet  of  the  ancient  time  selects  features  of  the 
heavens  and  describes  them  in  harmony  with  our  mod- 
ern knowledge;  we  wonder  but  do  not  attempt  to 
explain. 

Still  the  greater  mystery  remains,  why  does  God  do 


BOOK  OF  JOB  229 

all  these  great  deeds  ?    They  are  only  explained  in  the 
culmination,  in  the  making  of  a  man. 

The  colossal  theme,  "The  suffering  of  a  good  man 
under  the  government  of  the  righteous  God,"  is  dis- 
cussed not  only  in  that  ancient  time  but  for  all  time, 
our  modern  time  as  well.  But  as  with  science  so  with 
religion,  we  live  after  Christ;  and  a  poem  written 
today  upon  the  subject  would  be  full  of  the  hope  of 
the  immortal  life  in  heaven,  in  Christ's  presence  and 
likeness.  Though  written  long  before  Christ,  possibly 
long  before  the  preparation  made  for  Christ's  coming 
in  the  worship  of  Israel,  and  in  the  preaching  of  the 
prophets,  there  are  bright  stars  shining  in  the  book 
which  our  modern  Christianity  confirms  but  does  not 
exhaust:  Job  16:20-22  and  33:22-24  are  such  stars, 
and  especially  in  the  second  act  of  the  drama  when 
Job  comes  out  from  the  cloud  which  had  enveloped 
him  and  sees  the  bright  shining  of  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness ( 19 :  2^2"]^ . 

"Oh  that  my  words  were  now  written, 
Oh  that  they  were  inscribed  in  a  book 
That  with  an  iron  pen  and  lead 
They  were  graven  in  the  rock  forever. 
But  as  for  me,  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth 
And  at  last  he  will  stand  up  upon  the  earth. 
And  after  my  skin  even  this  body  is  destroyed, 
Then  without  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God, 
Whom  I,  even  I  shall  see  on  my  side, 
And  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and  not  as  a  stranger." 

We  wonder  at  such  faith  in  that  ancient  time  but 
do  not  attempt  to  explain. 


CHAPTER  XV 

DIDACTIC   POETRY 

The  Proverbs 

Aristotle  describes  poetry  as  ''the  expression  of 
the  universal,  as  more  philosophic  and  of  higher  worth 
than  history."  There  is  deep  philosophy  in  the  Bible 
based  upon  its  four  underlying  truths:  there  is  one 
God,  he  created  the  universe,  he  created  man  capable 
of  holding  fellowship  with  Himself,  and  he  governs 
the  universe  in  righteousness.  The  knowledge  of  God 
and  of  his  will  is  the  expression  of  the  universal  ac- 
cording to  Bible  philosophy,  it  is  expressed  not  merely 
in  words  but  especially  in  practice,  knowledge  put  into 
action.  The  deep  philosophy  of  the  Bible  results  in 
wisdom,  it  is  not  merely  great  powers  of  reasoning  and 
vast  stores  of  knowledge,  but  knowledge  and  reason- 
ing applied  to  the  conduct  of  life.  An  able  and  learned 
man  may  be  a  very  foolish  one  in  his  living,  it  requires 
more  than  learning  to  make  one  wise.  The  Wisdom 
Literature  of  the  Bible  is  the  result  of  reflection  upon 
the  practical  side  of  life,  it  describes  the  proper  con- 
duct of  man  in  a  universe  governed  by  the  righteous 
God.  True  poetry  is  more  than  seeing  to  the  soul  of 
things  and  voicing  the  vision  in  song,  it  is  voicing  the 
vision  in  the  conduct  of  a  life  in  harmony  with  God 
in  his  universe. 

230 


THE  PROVERBS  231 

In  describing  the  principles  and  results  of  conduct 
the  proverb  has  been  used  in  all  ages  and  by  all  races. 
The  description  is  put  first  in  a  terse  saying,  an  illus- 
tration or  comparison  follows,  equally  terse,  to  make 
the  whole  truth  pungent  and  fix  it  in  the  memory. 
Our  own  Dr.  Franklin  was  a  master  of  this  popular 
wisdom.  Here  is  one  of  his  proverbs :  "Poverty  often 
deprives  a  man  of  all  spirit  and  virtue."  A  terse 
statement;  now  by  comparison  and  illustration  he 
makes  it  pungent  and  it  clings  to  the  memory:  *Tt  is 
hard  for  an  empty  bag  to  stand  upright,"  and  the 
proverb  is  complete. 

The  Book  of  Proverbs  is  the  philosophy  of  the 
Bible  applied  to  the  conduct  of  life  and  cast  in  the 
form  of  poetry.  The  parallel  couplet  is  the  elemen- 
tary type  of  Hebrew  poetry,  and  this  gives  a  fine 
form  for  the  proverb.  The  unit  proverb  is  a  unit  of 
thought  in  a  unit  of  form.  There  are  three  main 
kinds  of  parallels  in  Hebrew  poetry  which  find  fine 
use  in  the  Proverbs ;  the  first  is  the  repeating  parallel, 
the  philosophy  is  complete  in  each  line : 

"He  that  is  slow  to  anger  is  better  than  the  mighty, 
And  he  that  ruleth  his  spirit  than  he  that  taketh  a  city." 

The  second  is  the  advancing  parallel,  the  philosophy 
requires  both  lines  to  complete  it: 

"As  vinegar  to  the  teeth,  and  as  smoke  to  the  eyes. 
So  is  the  sluggard  to  them  that  send  him." 

The  third  is  the  opposing  parallel,  the  philosophy  is 
strengthened  by  contrast: 

"The  wicked  flee  when  no  man  pursueth 
But  the  righteous  are  bold  as  a  lion." 


232  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

The  Proverbs  concerning  the  conduct  of  life  and 
expressed  in  these  appropriate  forms  have  awakened 
great  admiration  in  careful  students  of  the  book.  Dr. 
Guthrie  says  "The  Proverbs  fulfil  the  requirements  of 
effective  oratory  in  that  almost  every  verse  both  strikes 
and  sticks."  Principal  Lee  says  *The  high  character 
Scotsmen  have  for  practical  sagacity  comes  from  their 
acquaintance  with  the  book  of  Proverbs."  Coleridge 
says  "The  book  of  Proverbs  is  the  best  statesman's 
manual  ever  written." 

The  book  is  frequently  described  as  a  guide  to  busi- 
ness success. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  proverbs  arise  in  two  ways. 
Most  of  the  proverbs  of  all  nations  arise  probably 
from  the  general  experiences  of  mankind  which  at 
length  are  expressed  in  the  concise  sayings  of  the 
people;  no  one  knows  or  can  find  out  who  first  spoke 
the  saying;  its  first  form  has  probably  been  improved 
by  successive  generations,  until  at  length  it  can  be 
improved  no  further;  it  is  a  perfect  proverb.  The 
collection  of  such  proverbs  is  like  placer  mining;  the 
grains  of  gold  have  been  washed  out  from  the  rock 
by  the  frost  and  storms  of  ages,  have  been  borne 
down  in  the  winter  floods  and  at  length  have  been 
deposited  in  the  sand  bar;  the  miner  simply  washes 
them  from  the  worthless  sand.  The  collector  of  prov- 
erbs simply  separates  the  wise  sayings  of  the  experi- 
ence of  mankind  through  the  ages,  from  the  unwise; 
the  grains  of  gold  from  the  worthless  sand.  Such 
proverbs  may  be  properly  credited  to  the  collector, 
his  genius  discovers  and  preserves  them;  doubtless 
many  such  were  credited  to  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin. 


THE  PROVERBS  233 

Many  other  proverbs  arise  from  the  reflection  of 
some  wise  man  upon  the  experiences  of  mankind  and 
he  has  the  skill  to  express  his  reflection  in  a  concise, 
sharp,  witty  saying.  This  is  more  like  quartz  mining, 
the  miner  digs  into  the  rock  for  the  gold.  In  the  Book 
of  Proverbs  the  first  nine  chapters  contain  proverbs 
arising  in  the  latter  way,  the  remaining  chapters,  with 
a  few  exceptions,  seem  to  contain  proverbs  arising 
in  the  former  way. 

The  first  nine  chapters  may  be  regarded  as  a  Poem 
in  praise  of  wisdom  and  it  is  composed  of  several 
minor  poems,  each  complete  in  itself,  and  combining 
make  the  complete  poem  on  wisdom.  These  minor 
poems  have  the  nature  of  sonnets  in  that  they  have 
two  groups  of  parallels  expressing  two  successive 
phases  of  a  single  thought,  and  so  are  enlarged 
proverbs.  There  are  eighteen  such  complete  poems  in 
the  combined  poem  of  the  first  nine  chapters.  Chapter 
1:7-19  may  be  rapidly  examined,  it  is  a  complete  poem 
of  this  kind;  the  first  three  verses  are  introductory; 
the  tenth  verse  is  the  soul  of  the  poem : 

"My  son  if  sinners  entice  thee 
Consent  thou  not." 

Verses  11,  12,  13,  14  elaborate  the  first 
"My  son  if  sinners  entice  thee 

Verses  15,  16,  17,  18  elaborate  the  second 
"Consent  thou  not." 

Each  of  these  eighteen  poems  may  be  given  a  title  by 
the  attentive  reader,  the  author  having  neglected  this 


234  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

work.  A  good  title  for  the  poem  we  have  just  con- 
sidered would  be  "Evil  Company."  Another  com- 
plete poem  though  shorter,  may  bear  the  title  "The 
Sluggard"  :  chapter  6 :  6-i  i : 

"Go  to  the  ant,  thou  sluggard 
Consider  her  ways  and  be  wise." 

Verses  7  and  8  elaborate  the  last  parallel 
"Consider  her  ways  and  be  wise" 

Verses  9,  10,  11  elaborate  the  first  parallel 
"Go  to  the  ant,  thou  sluggard." 

The  whole  poem  in  praise  of  wisdom  seems  to 
grow  more  intense  in  spirit  and  elaborate  in  form  and 
to  culminate  in  the  eighth  chapter.  Here  also  the 
poet  has  a  device  which  we  shall  see  is  frequently  found 
in  the  Psalms,  that  of  a  striking  and  powerful  con- 
trast without  a  word  of  transition.  He  wishes  to 
awaken  special  interest  in  the  poem  on  wisdom  in  the 
eighth  chapter;  he  personifies  wisdom  as  a  stately, 
pure  and  beautiful  woman,  the  mother  adored  by  her 
sons.  The  interest  is  quickened  by  a  striking  contrast, 
the  seventh  chapter  immediately  preceding,  is  the  poem 
of  the  evil  woman  (7:27)  : 

"Her  house  is  the  way  to  Sheol 
Going  down  to  the  chambers  of  death  " 

The  ninth  chapter  contains  three  poems  continuing  the 
contrast.  The  remainder  of  the  book  is  composed 
largely  of  unit  proverbs  concerning  the  fruits  of  good 
and  bad  conduct  in  the  various  relations  of  life,  ar- 


THE  PROVERBS  235 

ranged  with  little  or  no  order,  a  collection  of  proverbs 
arising  from  popular  use.  Among  these  may  be  found 
a  few  poems  of  arranged  proverbs  as  the  poem  on 
Intoxication  (23:29-35)  and  on  Good  Husbandry 
(27:23-27). 

The  thirtieth  chapter  contains  a  few  enigmas  or 
dark  sayings  where  the  comparison  parallel  of  the 
proverb  is  omitted  with  the  design  to  exercise  the 
reader's  sagacity  to  supply  it.  The  book  closes  with 
an  elaborate  acrostic,  it  is  a  beautiful  poem  in  praise 
of  a  virtuous  woman. 


CHAPTER   XVI 

LYRIC   POETRY 

The  Psalms 

"The  Psalms"  was  a  favorite  and  familiar  book 
in  the  time  of  Christ.  There  are  283  clear  quotations 
from  the  Old  Testament  found  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, of  these  116  are  from  the  Psalms.  In  the  early 
church  "The  Psalms"  was  the  first  book  put  into  the 
hands  of  the  young  converts,  the  primer  of  religious 
Hfe,  and  no  one  could  be  admitted  to  the  ministry 
unless  he  knew  the  psalter  by  heart.  The  book  has 
found  a  prominent  place  in  the  public  worship  of 
every  historic  church  and  it  is  today  the  devotional 
book  of  the  Christian  world.  Believers  in  all  ages 
have  found  no  words  better  fitted  to  express  their 
deepest  feelings  in  all  the  vicissitudes  of  human  ex- 
perience than  those  of  these  ancient  psalms.  Intense 
feeling  pulsates  in  many  psalms,  sorrows  are  voiced 
in  sobbings,  joys  in  exclamations  and  in  outbursts  of 
exultation  and  often  these  are  contrasted  and  reiterated 
in  the  same  psalm,  like  the  recurrent  melody  of  mar- 
riage and  funeral  bells. 

How  and  when  these  ancient  psalms  came  to  be 
collected  in  one  book  we  do  not  know;  the  process 
seems  to  have  had  stages;  as  the  revised  version  of 
our    English    translation    shows,    they    were    really 

236 


THE  PSALMS  237 

gathered  into  five  books.  The  early  books  may  have 
been  collected  for  use  in  the  services  of  Solomon's 
Temple,  the  whole  of  the  five  books  were  probably  used 
both  in  recitation  and  song  in  the  worship  of  the 
second  Temple  in  the  time  of  Christ.  The  subjects 
of  the  songs  vary  alike  in  all  the  books  so  that  no 
classification  can  be  made.  There  is  a  singular  feature 
that  has  awakened  considerable  study:  the  five  books 
are  characterized  by  a  varied  use  of  the  Hebrew  names 
of  God:  Jehovah  and  Elohem.  In  our  authorized 
version  Jehovah  is  translated  Lord  and  Elohem,  God; 
in  the  American  Revision  Jehovah  is  retained  but 
Elohem  is  still  translated  God. 

In  the  first  book,  Psalms  1-41,  Jehovah  is  used 
272  times,  Elohem  15  times;  in  the  second  book, 
Psalms  42-72,  Jehovah  is  used  30  times,  Elohem  164 
times;  in  the  third  book.  Psalms  73-89,  Jehovah  is 
used  44  times,  Elohem  43  times;  in  the  fourth  book, 
Psalms  90-106,  Jehovah  is  used  112  times,  Elohem 
7  times;  in  the  fifth  book.  Psalms  107-150,  Jehovah 
is  used  227  times,  Elohem  35  times.  The  first  book 
is  the  Jehovah  book,  the  second  book  is  the  Elohem 
book,  the  third  book  is  nearly  equally  Jehovah  and 
Elohem,  the  last  two  books  are  Jehovah  books.  Those 
who  care  to  count  and  compare  will  find  this  a  marked 
feature  of  the  books,  but  it  will  be  difficult  to  draw 
any  sane  conclusion  of  either  age  or  authorship. 

The  division  into  five  books  is  believed  by  some  to 
have  been  made  in  imitation  of  the  fivefold  division  of 
the  books  of  the  law,  the  Pentateuch;  the  Law  is 
God's  fivefold  voice  to  man,  the  Psalms  is  man's  five- 
fold response  to  God.    This  at  least  makes  prominent 


238  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

the  distinction  between  law  and  praise.  The  Psalms 
present  religion  not  as  a  law  given  or  a  revelation 
made  but  as  truth  apprehended,  a  guidance  experi- 
enced, they  express  obedience,  trust  and  love  in  praise 
to  God. 

Much  interest  is  often  awakened  in  a  song  by  know- 
ing or  even  conjecturing  as  to  who  wrote  it  or  first 
sang  it,  or  when  it  first  came  into  existence  and  use. 
There  are  three  helps  we  have  in  trying  to  judge  of 
the  authorship  or  date  of  a  Psalm. 

First:  the  titles  given  to  the  Psalms;  lOO  bear  some 
person's  name  in  the  title,  i6  have  headings  without 
names,  34  have  no  headings  at  all,  are  called  orphan 
psalms.  These  titles  are  of  great  though  unknown 
antiquity,  they  were  probably  prefixed  by  the  com- 
pilers of  the  books  at  various  times  prior  to  the  Septua- 
gint  translation.  There  seems  no  reason  to  believe 
they  were  prefixed  by  the  authors  of  the  psalms,  their 
only  value  seems  in  showing  what  the  lovers  of  the 
psalms  living  nearest  to  the  times  of  their  origin 
thought  concerning  their  authors. 

Second:  the  historical  allusions  found  in  many  of 
the  psalms,  the  clearest  being  to  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  and  to  the  captivity  in  Babylon. 

Third :  the  style  and  language  of  the  psalm.  Every 
age  has  a  distinctive  style  and  language  and  the  poet, 
however  great  a  genius,  expresses  his  loftiest  thoughts 
and  deepest  feelings  in  the  terms  of  the  age  in  which 
he  lives,  voices  the  age.  This  is  a  difHcult  problem 
to  solve  by  those  living  in  far  different  lands  and  ages 
and  decisions  vary  according  to  the  taste  and  judgment 
of  the  critics. 


THE  PSALMS  239 

When  these  three  guides  agree  upon  any  psalm  a 
fair  inference  would  be  that  its  author  was  discovered. 
Two  of  the  most  fully  described  days  in  the  far  past 
are  found  in  the  life  of  David,  one  joyous,  one  sad; 
the  glorious  day  was  that  in  which  he  brought  the 
Ark  to  Jerusalem,  dedicating  the  capital  city  to  the 
worship  of  God,  making  it  the  Holy  City,  the  City  of 
the  great  King;  Psalms  30,  15,  24  probably  belong 
to  this  day.  The  sad  day  was  that  of  David's  flight 
from  Jerusalem  on  account  of  the  rebellion  of  his  son 
Absalom;  Psalms  4,  3,  63  probably  belong  to  this  day. 
This  rebellion  may  be  connected  with  David's  great 
sin,  and  Psalms  6,  ^2,  51  are  cries,  of  confession  and 
sorrow,  for  God's  forgiveness. 

But  in  a  real  sense  the  greatest  poets  are  impersonal, 

not  who  said  it  but  what  he  said  is  of  the  highest 

interest,  they  are  the  voices  of  the  higher  intelligence, 

voices  of  the  soul  speaking  to   God  and   for   God. 

Strong  says  **The  true  poet  is  one  of  the  immortal 

few 

"Who  to  the  enraptured  soul  and  ear  and  eye 
Teach  beauty,  virtue,  truth  and  love  and  melody." 

When  a  poet  nowadays  writes  a  song  he  generally 
gives  a  title  to  it  descriptive  of  its  content,  the  subject 
he  has  in  mind,  and  these  titles  are  of  great  value  to 
us  in  appreciation  of  the  poem;  the  ancient  poets  gave 
no  such  descriptive  titles.  In  the  authorized  version 
the  translators  of  the  Psalms  give  a  full  description 
of  the  contents,  it  is  solely  their  opinion;  the  revised 
version  gives  the  Psalm  without  any  descriptive  title, 
just  as  they  found  it;  the  American  revision  gives  to 


^40  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

each  Psalm  a  subject  title,  these  sometimes  show  a 
fine  appreciation  of  the  translators,  and  this  is  their 
sole  value,  they  in  no  sense  came  from  the  authors  of 
the  Psalms. 

Each  one  may  read  a  psalm  so  carefully  that  he 
may  describe  the  subject  according  to  his  appreciation, 
he  has  the  same  right  and  duty  and  may  succeed  as 
well  as  the  American  revisers,  perhaps  better  than 
they. 

Psalm  19  has  evidently  three  groups  of  verses:  1-6 
describing  the  heavens,  7-9  describing  the  law  of  God, 
10-14  describing  man  under  the  heavens  and  under 
the  law.  Many  titles  have  been  given  to  this  Psalm, 
we  may  exercise  our  appreciation,  our  judgment  and 
taste  by  choosing  the  best  or  by  making  one  for  our- 
selves. It  has  been  called  the  Song  of  the  Heavens, 
the  Song  of  the  Day,  the  Song  of  the  Sun,  the  Song 
of  the  Law,  the  Song  of  Man,  what  he  thinks  of  him- 
self when  conscious  of  the  presence  of  God.  The 
philosopher  Kant  speaks  of  the  two  perpetual  wonders, 
the  starry  heavens  above  and  the  moral  law  within; 
in  this  Psalm  the  three  are  placed  side  by  side  without 
a  word  of  transition:  the  heavens,  the  law,  and  man, 
the  philosopher. 

Of  course  the  150  Psalms  do  not  all  have  equal 
merit,  they  appeal  to  different  minds  with  varied  force 
and  to  the  same  mind  in  different  experiences.  Gen- 
eral opinion  has  selected  a  few  as  being  of  superior 
value,  Psalm  23rd,  the  Song  of  the  Shepherd.  In 
the  tent  of  the  shepherd  God  is  a  Shepherd,  God  fits 
himself  to  the  varied  employments  and  experiences  of 
his  people.    As  the  sheep  are  led  by  the  shepherd  as 


THE  PSALMS  241 

the  night  comes  on  up  the  dark  ravine  to  a  place  of 
safety  on  the  hills,  and  when  they  no  longer  can  see 
the  shepherd  in  the  gathering  gloom  they  can  see  the 
crook  swaying  over  his  shoulder  against  the  skyline, 
and  when  they  can  no  longer  see  that  they  can  hear 
him  striking  the  hard  road  with  the  staff  as  he  leads, 
so  many  a  soul  passing'  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death  has  been  comforted  by  the  leading 
of  the  great  Shepherd  until  the  heights  of  safety  have 
been  reached. 

Psalm  36,  the  Song  of  the  Goodness  of  God.  There 
are  evidently  three  groups  of  verses,  1-4,  5-8,  lo-ii; 
the  central  group  is  a  fine  description  of  the  goodness 
of  God: 

"Thy  loving  kindness  O  Lord  is  in  the  heavens, 
Thy  faithfulness  reacheth  unto  the  skies, 
Thy  righteousness  is  like  the  great  mountains, 
Thy  judgments  are  a  great  deep." 

By  a  daring  device  of  the  poet  this  splendid  description 
of  God  is  made  more  striking  as  it  is  contrasted, 
without  a  word  of  transition,  with  the  wickedness  of 
man  described  in  verses  1-4: 

"The  words  of  his  mouth  are  iniquity  and  deceit, 
He  hath  left  off  to  be  wise  and  to  do  good." 

The  white  righteousness  of  God  against  the  dark 
background  of  the  wickedness  of  man,  only  an  artist 
of  the  highest  skill  would  dare  the  contrast.  Well 
may  such  a  Psalm  close  in  an  earnest  prayer,  verses 

lO-II. 

Psalm  72  is  attributed  in  the  title  to  Solomon,  it 


242  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

may  be  called  the  Song  of  the  Messiah.  The  King 
of  Kings,  whose  reign  shall  extend  over  all  the  earth 
and  last  forever,  who  shall  pay  special  attention  to 
the  poor  and  shall  bless  all  men,  who  shall  rule  in 
righteousness,  is  evidently  a  greater  king  than  Solomon 
in  a  more  extensive  and  enduring  kingdom,  the  real 
Kingdom  of  God. 

Psalm  90  is  attributed  in  the  title  to  Moses,  it  may 
be  called  the  Song  of  the  Passing  Generations;  the 
greatness  of  the  singer  may  account  for  the  greatness 
of  the  song  which  has  been  called  *'the  noblest  of  all 
human  compositions."  "The  man  grown  grey  with 
vast  experience"  making  the  eternal  God  his  abiding 
place,  sings  of  the  passing  generations  of  mankind. 
We  may  imagine  a  sunrise  on  the  mountain  as  the 
scene  of  the  Psalm,  more  enduring  than  the  mountain 
is  God,  more  quickly  passing  than  the  day  is  man. 
The  freshness  of  the  morning  as  each  generation  arises 
to  face  the  lights  and  shadows  of  life,  inspires  the 
prayer  closing  the  Psalm. 

"Let  the  beauty  of  the  Lord  our  God  be  upon  us 
And  establish  thou  the  work  of  our  hands  upon  us, 
Yea,  the  work  of  our  hands,  establish  thou  it." 

Psalms  103  and  104  are  companion  Songs,  the  first 
is  the  song  of  God's  Throne  in  the  Soul: 

"As  the  heaven  is  high  above  the  earth 
So  great  is  his  mercy  toward  them  that  fear  him, 
As  far  as  the  east  is  from  the  west 
So  far  hath  he  removed  our  transgressions  from  us, 
Like  as  a   father  pitieth  his  children 
So  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  him." 


THE  PSALMS  243 

The  second  is  the  Song  of  God's  Throne  in  the  Uni- 
verse : 

"O  Lord  my  God,  thou  art  very  great, 
Thou  art  clothed  with  honor  and  majesty, 
Thou  coverest  thyself  with  light  as  with  a  garment, 
Thou  stretchest  out  the  heavens  like  a  curtain." 

Humboldt  says  this  Psahn  reflects  the  growing  form 
of  the  whole  cosmos,  and  anticipates  all  the  sciences. 
The  sciences  are  here  singing  the  praises  of  the  great 
Creator  and  Ruler  of  the  Universe.  In  these  two 
companion  Psalms  the  poetry  of  the  Bible  reaches  the 
climax  of  man  praising  God  supreme  over  the  soul 
within  and  the  universe  without. 

Psalm  119  may  be  called  the  Song  of  the  Law.  In 
it  the  simple  double  parallelism  is  wrought  out  in  its 
most  elaborate  form  and  still  retains  much  of  the 
music  of  song;  it  is  an  acrostic,  there  are  twenty-two 
groups  one  for  each  letter  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet, 
each  group  has  eight  parallels,  each  one  beginning  with 
the  letter  to  which  the  group  belongs,  and  each  parallel 
in  the  whole  Psalm,  with  a  single  exception,  gives 
some  title  or  description  of  the  law  of  God. 

Psalm  139  may  be  called  the  Song  of  God's  Omni- 
presence. The  lofty  genius  of  the  poet  represents  the 
soul  at  first  vainly  trying  to  fly  from  his  presence: 

"Whither  shall  I  flee  from  thy  presence? 

*Tf  I  ascend  up  into  heaven,  thou  art  there, 

"If  I  make  my  bed  in  sheol,  behold  thou  art  there." 

At  length  the  soul  learns  to  rejoice  in  this  presence, 

"How  precious  are  thy  thoughts  unto  me  O  Godl 
"How  great  is  the  sum  of  them! 
"When  I  awake  I  am  still  with  thee." 


244  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

In  the  last  book  of  Psalms  there  are  three  groups. 
The  Hallel  Psalms,  113-118,  were  sung  at  the  great 
feasts;  it  is  probable  that  our  Lord  and  his  disciples 
sang  1 1 5-1 18  when  they  left  the  upper  room  after 
the  institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  Mark  14:26. 

The  Songs  of  Ascents,  120-135,  were  used  by  the 
pilgrims  from  all  parts  of  the  land  as  they  went  up  to 
the  great  feasts  at  Jerusalem. 

The  Hallelujah  Psalms,  146-150,  in  which  the  ex- 
ultant spirit  of  worship  culminates  in  a  great  outburst 
of  praise  to  the  Lord  God  close  the  book. 

While  many  of  these  150  Psalms  may  have  been 
more  generally  used  in  the  home  than  in  the  temple, 
and  while  many  may  have  been  recited  rather  than 
sung  in  the  temple,  there  is  abundant  reason  to  believe 
that  the  temple  service  was  very  elaborate  in  its  music. 
I  Chronicles  25  gives  a  description  of  a  great  choir  of 
4,000  voices  and  a  great  orchestra  of  300  instruments. 
In  the  daily  service  of  the  temple  only  a  division  of 
the  whole  was  engaged,  but  the  whole  choir  and  or- 
chestra were  kept  in  training,  though  located  in  many 
different  cities  throughout  the  land,  as  each  division 
was  prepared  to  take  its  turn  in  the  daily  worship; 
and  the  whole  choir  and  orchestra  were  drawn  to- 
gether on  the  great  feast  days. 

There  are  indications  in  some  of  the  Psalms  that 
the  musical  rendering  was  very  elaborate ;  some  strange 
words  of  the  Hebrew  language  are  retained  in  our 
versions  because  their  meaning  is  not  fully  known, 
but  they  seem  to  indicate  musical  directions.  In  oiir 
authorized  version  Neginoth  is  retained  in  the  title  of 
the  76th  Psalm,  the  revised  version  ventures  to  trans- 


THE  PSALMS  J245 

late  it  "on  stringed  instruments";  Nehiloth,  Psalm  5, 
probably  indicates  "the  accompaniment  of  flutes";  Al 
tashheth,  in  Psalms  57,  58  and  75  probably  means 
these  Psalms  were  to  be  sung  to  the  popular  tune 
"Destroy  not,"  a  song  of  the  vineyard  referred  to  in 
Isaiah  65 : 8.  So  Shoshannin  Eduth,  in  the  80th, 
indicates  the  name  of  the  tune  for  that  Psalm  "The 
Lilies  of  Testimony";  Gittith,  Psalm  81,  probably 
indicates  it  was  set  to  a  melody  used  in  treading  the 
winepress.  The  Hebrew  word  Selah,  so  frequently 
used,  probably  means  louder  or  rest. 

Thus  these  strange  Hebrew  words  with  their  dim 
memories  become  a  kind  of  telephone  to  convey  to  our 
listening  ears  the  strains  of  distant  music,  the  praises 
of  God  in  the  temple-courts  of  far  off  Jerusalem. 

Then  too  the  structures  of  many  of  the  psalms  seem 
adapted  to  varied  kinds  of  singing.  Many  Psalms  are 
so  nicely  adapted  to  antiphonal  singing  that  they  seem 
even  to  our  musically  trained  ears  in  this  age  of  operas 
and  oratorios  to  sing  themselves.  There  are  many 
passages  evidently  to  be  rendered  by  a  single  voice, 
solo  singing;  Psalm  34,  the  Song  of  Confidence  in 
God,  is  such,  solo  voices  mingled  with  chorus  singing : 
3rd  verse,  one  voice,  4th  another,  5th  several  voices 
together,  6th  another  solo,  8th  a  chorus,  and  so 
throughout  the  Psalm. 

A  glance  at  the  11 8th  Psalm  shows  how  elaborately 
it  could  be  rendered  by  the  great  choir,  it  is  a  Song 
of  thanksgiving : 

Verses  1-4  antiphonal  singing 

5-7  solo         8-9  chorus         10-12  antiphonal 


246  ORATORY  AND  POETRY 

13-14  solo     15-16  chorus     17-19  solo 

20  chorus  of  priests 

21  solo       22-25  whole  choir 
26-27  chorus  of  priests 

28  solo         29  whole  choir. 

Psalm  107,  the  Song  of  the  Redeemed,  has  already 
been  considered  in  Chapter  XII.  It  is  probable,  as 
hinted,  that  the  singing  was  not  confined  to  the  great 
choir  but  that  the  spirit  of  praise  was  so  awakened  in 
all  the  people  that  it  culminated  in  congregational 
singing  of  the  greatest  conceivable  kind;  probably 
20,000  people  were  gathered  in  the  temple-courts  on 
the  great  feast  days  and  multitudes  more  in  the  nearby 
streets  and  upon  the  nearby  hillsides.  To  such  a  vast 
audience  as  could  crowd  the  temple-courts  we  have 
seen  some  of  the  great  orators  speak,  we  have  listened 
to  Isaiah  as  his  clear  ringing  voice  carried  his  message 
to  the  borders  of  the  crowd,  at  the  close  of  some  great 
feastday  service.  We  may  again  imagine  ourselves 
there;  the  feastday  songs  have  been  rendered,  prob- 
ably the  107th  Psalm  has  been  sung  by  the  great 
choir;  we  have  listened  to  Isaiah  in  his  great  Golden 
Age  Oration,  Isaiah,  chapters  2,  3,  4.  Now  comes 
the  culminating  act  of  worship:  the  High  Priest's 
Benediction  and  the  singing  of  the  67th  Psalm;  this 
Psalm  gathers  in  itself  the  nation's  praise  for  the 
covenant  blessings  and  the  nation's  hope  for  the  future 
under  the  reign  of  the  Messiah ;  it  was  sung  probably 
by  the  choir  and  the  people  as  a  response  to  the  High 
Priest's  Benediction  (Numbers  6:22-27),  which  was 
given  by  the  priest  in  charge  at  the  close  of  the  morn- 


THE  PSALMS  247 

ing  and  evening  sacrifice  each  day  but  especially  by 
the  High  Priest  when  he  came  out  from  the  Holy  of 
Holies  on  the  great  day  of  the  whole  year,  the  day 
of  Atonement  (Leviticus  16).  Then  the  choir  of  four 
thousand  voices  and  three  hundred  instruments  and 
the  thousands  of  people  in  the  temple-courts  and  in 
the  streets  and  on  the  hillsides  near  the  temple  united 
in  their  response. 

There  are  three  blessings  pronounced  by  the  priest, 
so  there  are  three  strains  of  praise  in  the  response  each 
followed  by  a  refrain.  The  first  strain  receives  the 
blessing  not  for  the  nation  alone  but  rather  that  God's 
salvation  may  be  extended  to  all  nations,  the  nation 
in  covenant  with  God  in  this  its  highest  act  of  worship, 
realizes  God's  gracious  and  lofty  purpose  to  bless  all 
nations.  The  worshiping  nation  crowding  the  city  of 
God  on  the  mountaintop  of  the  Holy  Land  becomes 
the  High  Priest  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  and  ex- 
tends His  benediction  to  all  lands. 

The  second  strain  describes  the  joy  of  all  the  na- 
tions under  the  reign  of  the  righteous  Messiah.  The 
third  strain  describes  the  fruit  fulness  of  the  whole 
earth  when  all  nations  shall  receive  the  covenant  of 
God  bringing  salvation.  Each  strain  sung  by  the  great 
choir  is  followed  by  the  refrain  sung  by  all  the  people: 

"Let  the  people  praise  thee  O  God 
Let  all  the  people  praise  thee." 

Well  may  we  in  this  far  off  age  and  land  answer 
Amen  and  Amen,  for  we  are  under  the  reign  of  the 
Messiah,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


INDEX 

PAGE 

Acts,  2d  Chapter 175 

Acts,  Chapter  17 :  16-34 , 186 

Amos,  Speech  of 47 

Athens,  Life  in 181 

Babylon,  Life  in 95»  i09»  130 

Captives'  return  journey  from  Babylon 131 

Daniel   9^ 

Deuteronomy,  Speeches  in 22,  30 

Exodus,  Chapters  7-15 212 

Ezekiel,  Speeches  of 24,  112,  125 

Genesis,  ist  Chapter 227 

Genesis,  Chapter  4 :  23,  24 197 

Habakkuk,  Speech  of 90 

Haggai,  Speech  of 136 

Hosea,  Speech  of 58 

Isaiah,  Speeches  of 24,  74 

Isaiah,  Chapters  40-66 220 

Jeremiah,  Speeches  of 24,  loi 

Jerusalem,  Life  in 62,  75,  loi,  168 

Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Speeches  of 153 

Job,  Book  of 221 

Joel,  Speeches  of 65 

John,  Chapter  12 :  20-36 165 

Judges,  Chapters  4,  5 214 

Lamentations  of  Jeremiah 218 

Land  Laws  and  Customs 68 

248 


INDEX  249 

PAGE 

Matthew,  Chapters  5,  6,  7 153 

Matthew,  Chapter  23 164 

Micah,  Speeches  of 70 

Moses,  Speeches  of 22,  30 

Moses,  Song  of 38,  205 

Moses,  Farewell  of 39 

Music  in  Temple  Worship 64 

Nahum,  Speech  of 24 

Nebuchadnezzar  96 

Orators  of  the  New  Testament 24 

Paul,  the  Apostle,  Speech  of 182 

Peter,  the  Apostle,  Speech  of ,    177 

Prophets,   Mission  of 23 

Proverbs,  The 240 

Psalm  107  in  the  Temple  Worship 64 

Psalm  29  in  the  Temple  Worship 105 

Psalms,  General   201-8 

Psalms,  General 240 

Resurrection  of  Christ 168 

Samaria,  Life  in  the  City 43 

Social  Conditions 69,  71,  80,  147 

Song  of  Songs,  The 215 

Street  Preaching  in  Jerusalem 75,  "jy 

Temple,  The   63,  67 

Temple  Choir  and  Orchestra 244 

Zechariah    140 

Zephaniah,  Speeches  of 86 


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